Romeoladdin: The Return of Brain
by TheSavageMan100
Summary: The sequel to the first of Fairy Tail's Disney Parody Series, Romeoladdin. The evil Brain has returned and is plotting revenge on Romeo Conbolt, with the help of a new ally. But Romeo seems to have a new ally of his own, in the form Brain's ex-henchman, Cobra! Will it be enough to defeat Brain, or will he have the last laugh?
1. Same Old Romeo

**Summary  
** _I'm back, ladies and gentlemen, for the continuation of Fairy Tail's Disney Parody Series! By popular demand, this is the sequel to first of the series, Romeoladdin. The evil Brain has returned and is plotting revenge on Romeo Conbolt, with the help of a new ally. But Romeo seems to have a new ally of his own, in the form Brain's ex-henchman, Cobra! Will it be enough to defeat Brain, or will he have the last laugh?_

 **DISCLAIMER:** All rights belong to Hiro Mashima, A-1 Pictures, Bridge, and Disney. I own nothing.

* * *

Nighttime has fallen in the desert outside of Magnolia. The flowing of endless sand into the wind broke the silencing moonlight and forced the hissing snake to slither away as a gang of cloaked thieves rode on hordes. Oh, and can you recognize the familiar singing voice?

Yajima: **_Follow me to a place where incredible feats  
_** _ **Are routine ever hour or so**_ ** _  
Where enchantment runs rampant  
Gets wild in the streets  
_** _ **Open Sesame, here we go!**_

The riders kept pressing onward until they reached a mountain and went through a secret entrance.

 ** _Magnolian Nights!  
_** _ **Like Magnolian Days**_ ** _  
More often than not  
Are hotter than hot  
In a lot of good ways!_**

As they continued through the mountain, they approached an ancient ruins.

 ** _Pack your shield, pack your sword  
You won't ever get bored  
Though beaten or gored, you might  
_** _ **Come on down, stop on by**_ ** _  
_** _ **Hop a dragon and fly**_ ** _  
To another Magnolian night!_**  
 ** _Magnolian night!_**

Soon, the riders stopped their horses and dismounted, carrying sacks and chests of stolen treasure. From the shadows, other cloaked thieves watched the returning ones. Two of the riders held up the treasure in their hands and removed the hoods of their cloaks.

The first was a young woman with light brown skin with short dark green hair and a small green oval-shaped Bindi-styled jewel in the center of her forehead, and wears a purple jester-like hat adorned with the symbol of a phantom, a blue ripped-sleeved shirt, green pants, and red earrings. Her name was Sue, otherwise known as the Mirror Wizard.

The other was a tall dark-skinned bald man wearing a violet polo shirt under a pale-green jacket with a furry blue trim around the collar, and sporting a pair of gold-framed glasses with purple lenses, one of the lenses mostly broken because of an accident a long time ago. His name was Boze, otherwise known as the Sound Wizard.

"It's been an excellent night for an excellent raid, eh, Sue?" Boze asked.

"Sure is!" Sue replied with a wink and a smile on her face. "The Phantom Lord Guild scored a lot of loot today; we barely had enough to score anymore."

As the two continued conversing, neither of them noticed magical shades of phantoms swiping some of the treasure as fast as lightning.

"Of course, we wouldn't be able to in the first place…" a black-and-white haired samurai wizard named Totomaru remarked, before he turned to another direction and added in disgust, "…if it weren't for our so-called fearless Guild Master."

Nearby is the same man who projected those Magic Shades to raid the treasure. He was a tall, slim elderly man with a thin moustache and long straight black hair reaching down to his shoulders, and wears a militaristic blue outfit and a brownish cape covering his left arm. His name was Jose Porla, the master of the Phantom Lord Guild. When one of his Magic Shades attempted to reach something out of a vase, it accidentally fell and shattered.

"Blast those Shades!" Jose swore. "I could've sworn I'm always careful with my Shade Magic… Then again, I'm getting a bit too old and seemed to have lost some of my focus." He then shrugged, "It doesn't matter, though. There are still plenty of vases to go around."

Rarely noticing his fellow guildmates giving him the stink eye, Jose motioned his Shades to fly to the chest and open it, revealing an endless supply of gold.

"Excellent!" Jose grinned greedily. "Isn't this a sight to behold, my band of desert rats?" With a chuckle, he pulled out a jeweled rose and pinned it to his shirt, making most of the Phantom Lord wizards frown.

"Excusez-moi, Monsieur Jose?" a French brown tuxedo-wearing man named Sol interrupted. "Since when do you get to keep the _rose ornée de pierres précieuses?_ "

"Why you ask? It is a bonus for being the guild's beloved Guild Master, of course," Jose explained. "And that (points at a treasure chest), and that (points at a sack of gold), and that (points at a mountain of treasure) are a part of it!"

"But what about OUR reward?" Boze argued with gritted teeth. "We've been in the Phantom Lord Guild for a long time, and we've worked a lot to get to the top! We deserve a lot more than this, you know?"

"Oh, how silly of me!" Jose exclaimed mockingly, causing the Phantom Lord wizards to growl angrily at their cruel Guild Master. "I forgot to give each of you your reward! In light of all of your efforts to serve and protect the honor of the Phantom Lord Guild, you receive what you wish, _my children_. There…" He tossed to the young wizards a small sack of gold, "I hope this is satisfactory enough." He concluded with a cruel, maniacal laugh.

Boze, Sue, Totomaru, Sol, and the fat green clothed wizard Aria could only stare at the sack of gold, before their temper reached its peak. For too long, their greedy Guild Master always had his way of keeping all the spoils to himself and not sharing it with any of the guildmates. Well, not this time!

Totomaru growled and exclaimed, "That's it! I can't take it anymore!" He unsheathed his katana, "My katana is at the ready to cut off Master Jose's head and free us from our oppressive indignity!"

The samurai wizard advanced to deal the fatal blow to an unnoticing Jose, until the treasure chest had mysteriously lifted off of the ground and began to move away.

"The chest! It's moving!" Sue exclaimed.

"Nothing's holding it up!" Boze added.

"EEEEEK! GHOSTS!" Totomaru panicked.

Jose rolled his eyes and said in disgust, "We are the Phantom Lord Guild, and yet, one of my Element 4 is afraid of ghosts? How ridiculous." Summoning his Magic Shades, he ordered them to pick up the chest to find a certain 6-year old cowgirl. It's Asuka Connell! She was quick to notice she wasn't holding the chest, before she yelped upon seeing the glaring Phantom Lord wizards.

"Oh, hi everybody," Asuka giggled nervously. "Mind if I join the party?"

"Insolent cowgirl!" Totomaru glared, seizing his katana. "How dare you make a mockery out of Totomaru of the Great Fire!"

"Oopsie!" Asuka gulped.

"Hey! Don't even think about it, Phantom!" a shout of a familiar voice echoed.

Out of nowhere, a familiar 13-year old boy with the long sleeveless jacket, green shorts, and yellow scarf on his neck hopped across the evil wizards' heads. Before landing to the ground, Romeo launched a **Fire Dragon's Wing Attack** on Jose, disorienting the Phantom Lord Guild Master, and landing straight in front of Totomaru. Accompanying the boy are two familiar figures: one a blue Exceed flying on wings, and another a 17 year-old blonde ponytailed Celestial Wizard in blue attire.

"Hi there!" the Celestial Wizard named Lucy Heartfilia greeted with a wink. "You guys are looking lively with all the loot you got."

"Wow, Lucy," the blue Exceed Happy remarked. "You seem to be interested in all the gold and treasures Phantom stole. Your ego is starting to show again!"

Lucy groaned, "Shut it, fleabag!"

"Either way, beating up all these Phantom jerks is gonna be a big haul for all of us," the 13-year old boy named Romeo Conbolt grinned, slamming his fists burning with Fire Dragon Slayer Magic. "And in the words of many famous Fairy Tail wizards, I'm all fired up!"

"Who the heck are you?" Totomaru asked.

Romeo introduced himself with a smirk, "My friends call me the Rainbow Fire in the Rough. But my name is Romeo Conbolt. You can call me Romeo." He motioned to his other friends, "And these are my friends Asuka, Happy, and Lucy."

"Hello!" Asuka and Happy waved.

"Romeo Conbolt?" Totomaru exclaimed. "The name of the hero who vanished the Oración Seis? I've heard news of a 13 year-old boy who saved the city of Magnolia, but is it really him?!"

The rest of the Phantom Lord members chattered in amazement in seeing THE Romeo Conbolt in person, the same boy who stopped Brain from taking over Magnolia. But Jose's growl snapped them out of it.

"Don't just stand there, you insolent fools!" Jose shouted. "Attack!"

Totomaru, Aria, Sol, Boze, Sue, and the Phantom Lord wizards jumped at Romeo and his friends, but once the smoke cleared, they discovered they were only fighting each other.

"There they go!" Boze shouted, seeing Romeo, Asuka, Happy, and Lucy fleeing with the loot. "They're getting away with our treasure!"

"Stop them!" Sue yelled.

The Phantom Lord wizards charged at Romeo and his friends, who stood ready for battle.

"Alright, you asked for it! **Fire Dragon's Roar!** " Romeo exhaled a large stream of fire from his mouth, scorching most of the wizards.

"Check this out! **Open, Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!** " Lucy lifted one of her Golden Gate Keys and summoned from a white portal the Celestial Spirit Taurus, a tall muscular cow.

"Hello, Miss Lucy! Can I get a smooooooch from you?" Taurus flirted with his Celestial Wizard.

"I would if you prepare these losers for a rodeo of pain!" Lucy ordered.

With that, Taurus brandished his axe and smacked countless Phantom Lord wizards across the ruins.

"Okay! It's my turn now! This is what I learned from Mommy and Daddy!" Asuka raised her hands and summoned two magic miniguns which materialized in the air. " **Guns Magic: Machine Guns!** " She aimed the miniguns at the Phantom Lord wizards and fired multiple shots, paralyzing them while shouting a thunderous cry, " **YEE-HAW!** "

While fending off a few wizards with her whip, Lucy said to Romeo, "It's amazing to see how Asuka can use magic in a fight now."

Romeo nodded while smacking a Phantom Lord wizard with a burning fist, "Yep! Asuka has grown a lot since our adventures together. Mr. and Mrs. Connell wanted to teach Asuka self-defense by training her with Guns Magic. It runs in the family, doesn't it?"

Lucy smiled, kicking one Phantom Lord wizard aside, "And Fire Magic runs in yours. Remember when you reunited with your dad?"

Romeo replied, headbutting an enemy grunt, "I've never been this happy to see my dad again. But adventures like this, and friends like you… It also makes me happy. And that's all I need!"

Lucy laughed, swishing her whip on an enemy face, "Oh, I see. You're underage than most Fairy Tail wizards, but you've got spunk and a lot of heart, Romeo."

Romeo laughed back, kicking one enemy to the jaw, "No kidding!"

Asuka said to Romeo while firing her magic miniguns, "Boy, this is like squaring off with Panther Lily and his guards in the good old days, right, Romeo?"

Romeo grinned, punching a Phantom Lord wizard square in the cheek, "Yeah, only this time we won't get in trouble with Wendy or Carla!" With a few Phantom Lord wizards remaining, Romeo prepared himself for one last surprise. "Alright, time for a Dragon Slayer Secret Art!"

Lucy grinned, "Like we could say no?"

Happy cried, "Do your stuff!"

" **Crimson Lotus: Fire Dragon Fists!** " Romeo unleashed a massive thousand fire punch technique that decimated the remaining Phantom Lord wizards until they are brought down. He then looked up the ceiling and called out, "Dad, whenever you're ready!"

On cue, the ceiling suddenly collapsed to make way for a small airship shaped like a dragon and colored red and pink. Known as the Flying Dragneel, named after the Genie of the Dragon Scale, it was piloted by Romeo's father Macao.

Macao grinned, "One free ride back to Magnolia coming up!"

Totomaru, Boze, and Sue looked dumbstruck as Romeo, Asuka, Happy, and Lucy scooped up all the loot and jumped into the Flying Dragneel along with it.

"A dragon?" Totomaru said in disbelief, before he yelled at Boze, "He's got a dragon!"

Boze agreed, "And it looks nice too!"

"Technically speaking, it's an airship that looks like a dragon," Sue pointed out.

As the Flying Dragneel begins taking off, Macao remarked the injured Phantom Lord wizards, "For a guild calling themselves the Ruler of the Spirits, they sure are a bunch of brats." He turned to Romeo, Asuka, Happy, and Lucy, "No offense, kids."

Lucy giggled, "None taken, Macao. These guys aren't so scary. Good wizards, but bad fighters with bad taste."

"Hey! I think we miss one!" Happy pointed to one last sack of treasure down below. "I'll get it!" As he spread his wings and swooped down to grab the sack, Totomaru took notice.

"Come back here with our treasure!" Totomaru yelled, grabbing onto the Flying Dragneel's tailfin. "It belongs to the Phantom Lord Guild!"

Seeing Totomaru hanging onto the Flying Dragneel's tail, Macao chuckled evilly and grinned, "Hey, you wanna go for a ride? I'll give you a ride!" He then activated the controls.

The Flying Dragneel flew really fast across the ruins, freaking out Totomaru and making him shriek in fright, "STOP! STOP! SOMEBODY MAKE THIS THING STOP!" Romeo and his friends, on the other hand, were cheering and screaming with joy.

During the intense aerial ride, Asuka noticed a golden necklace around Totomaru's neck. With a sly grin, Asuka said, "Oooooh… Shiny." With that, she swiped the necklace and added, "Thanks, mister!"

"Hey! That's mine!" Totomaru screamed, attempting to swipe Asuka with his katana, but missed. What's even worse, he let go of the Flying Dragneel in the process! Realizing his mistake, he exclaimed, "Uh-oh."

Romeo and his friends could only laugh and watch as Totomaru fell on the ground, the vibration causing the head of a statue to fall off and hit his head, knocking him out.

Asuka joked, "Lookie there! He just got a heads up!"

Happy cheered, "Aye!"

Romeo asked Macao, "So what do we do now, Dad?"

"We'll leave Phantom to the rest of Fairy Tail, kiddo. I gave them a magical map to where their hideout is," Macao answered. "Our real job is this whole pile of loot. Fasten your seat belts, kids. We're going home!"

Romeo, Asuka, Happy, and Lucy saluted, "Aye, aye, captain!"

The Flying Dragneel flew out of the exit seconds before the Phantom Lord wizards attempted to close the doors. Once they made it out, the Flying Dragneel flew across the dunes to Magnolia.

Jose whined, "Come back! That's my treasure!"

Sue argued, "OUR treasure! You're not the only one who scored all this loot! You were raving around while we do all the dirty work for you, and we never get anything in return!"

Jose muttered under his breath, "Show-offs. You're just here for all the glory and none of the work. I am the Guild Master, I deserve all the glory."

Boze remarked, "This Romeo kid sure is fast for a little guy."

Suddenly, the doors to the ancient ruins exploded, sending the ones who closed them flying. All of the Phantom Lord wizards are shocked to see that out of the smoke, the rest of the Fairy Tail wizards stood at the entrance with angry looks on their eyes, and Makarov Dreyar, the Guild Master, leading the charge.

"Fairy Tail has come callin'!" Makarov declared.

At once, the Fairy Tail wizards engaged in combat with the wounded and scared Phantom Lord guild. One thing's for sure, Phantom Lord's not going to get another major haul anytime soon.


	2. I'm Looking Out for Me

Somewhere in the desert, a small mound of sand appeared and moved around until finally, a top half of a certain snake wizard popped out of the sand, coughing. It was Cobra, a wizard of the disbanded Oración Seis Dark Guild who had been trapped inside a lamp with his boss, Brain.

"Finally! We're out of that sand trap! I thought we'd never get out," Cobra exclaimed as he popped sand out of his ear. "I got sand in places I didn't even know I had."

Just then, Brain's voice came from the lamp, "SPARE ME YOUR PRATTLING, COBRA! ARE WE OUT YET?!"

"'Are we out yet?'" Cobra mocked him. "'Are we out yet?'" He then snapped, "Yes! As a matter of fact, we're out! I can hear your impatient thoughts, you know!" Cobra started hopping around with his bottom stuck in the lamp, trying to free himself, "And no thanks to you. I swear, if my body wasn't stuck in that lamp with you, you probably would've stayed down there forever!"

After hopping around one last time, the lamp glowed dark green as Brain's voice thunderously bellowed, " **COBRA!** " The snake wizard in question was blasted out of the lamp with a mighty blast, crashing him headfirst into a large mound of sand. "You will now release me!" Brain's voice declared, before it softened, "So that I may have my revenge."

Cobra pulled himself out of the sand and brushed himself off. He sarcastically replied, "Yeah, yeah. I'll let you out of the lamp… whenever I feel like it."

"Just do as I say, you worthless little snake!" Brain screamed.

Cobra frowned, "Uh, yeah. At least I wasn't a fool like you are. For someone with a name called Brain, you really aren't a brain if it weren't for me."

Brain said furiously, "WHAT?!"

Cobra said with a smirk, "Do I have to spell it out for you, Brain? You're nothing without me! Who comes up with all the good ideas besides the rest of the Oración Seis? That's right, me! Who does all the work while you just sit there? Me! Who gets to be the guinea pig in every plan? Me!"

"Well, if it weren't for _me_ _…_ " Brain retorted, the spout of the lamp jabbing Cobra in his stomach. "…you would still be stuck in the Tower of Heaven, working and slaving all day to create the R-System! And before I handpicked you to form the Oración Seis, you were just a weak, boring, snake-obsessed nerd!"

Cobra got really angry like he was about to strangle Brain if he was outside of the lamp. But instead of losing it, he decided to express his feelings… in song.

Cobra: **_THAT'S IT!  
I_** _ **'ve had it!**_ ** _  
_** _ **I hate to be dramatic,**_ ** _  
But it's time for me to blow the coop!_**

The lamp fired a blast of green energy at Cobra, who dodged it.

 ** _Terrific, fine!  
I'm drawin' the line,  
Before I wind up in a cobra soup!_**

He grinned evilly as he picked up the lamp and carried it over to a well, as Brain yelled, "Cobra, what are you doing?!"

 ** _I was a fool to let you run the show  
I'm _**_**cuttin' ya loose, pal!**_ ** _  
LOOK OUT BELOW!_**

Cobra tossed the lamp into the well, and we can hear Brain's screams echoing from the lamp diving to the dark bottom, "YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS, COBRAAAAAAAAA!"

 ** _Arrivederci!_**  
 ** _C'est la vie!  
_** _ **Hope all goes well!  
I'm lookin' out for me!**_

With a nod, Cobra lets out a sharp whistle in the air and called, "Hey, Cubellios!"

Just on cue, a large purple serpent sporting a pair of bat-like wings flew downward to meet her master. Her name was Cubellios, Cobra's giant pet snake.

"Take me to Magnolia," Cobra instructed. "Since the Oración Seis is no longer around, Brain's no longer the boss, so we don't have to bother with him anymore! And trust me, he's gone to a better place…" Cobra laughed amusingly to himself as Cubellios flew him up into the air, with Cobra standing in her back, and the two sped out of the desert.

 **Later…**

Upon arriving at the marketplace of Magnolia, Cobra smiled deviously as he surveyed the area, "Ah, Magnolia. Just a juicy golden goose ripe for snake venom, and I'm the one with the fangs! I'm gonna be running this town in a couple of minutes!" He stopped to see members of the Quatro Cerberus Guild staring at him with bored expressions.

"Hey, what's your problem?" Bacchus Groh asked.

"I was asking the same of you, puppy ears!" Cobra glared. "What's _your_ problem? You don't think I can do it?!"

Cobra: **_Okay! I'm little,  
Been playin' tank and fiddle  
_** _ **And I don't get no respect.**_

"GET HIM!" The angry Quatro Cerberus members rushed to attack Cobra, but he fought back with his Poison Magic. He sped out of the way and nonchalantly placed his arm around Minerva Orland, acting like they were friends, with Minerva looking at him oddly.

 ** _I turn the other place,  
But this busted face  
Is the only thanks that I get!_**

At a fruit stand where Bora the Prominence is working, Cobra swiped some fruit into his jacket.

 ** _I never found a friend_** ** _that I can trust  
_** _ **They promise caviar**_ ** _  
And leave me eatin' dust!_**

With an annoyed frown, Bora casts **Prominence Whip** to grab the fruit from Cobra's grasp. He then tried to attack him with another **Prominence Whip** , but Cobra got out of the way and stopped by a passing flock of Wyverns. He rested on top of one as he finished up what was left of the grapes that had been stolen.

 ** _That's some reward for loyalty  
From here on in_**  
 ** _I'm_** _ **lookin' out for me!**_

At a jewel stand, Michello was examining a diamond proudly, until he noticed dozens of reflections of Cobra decorated in a fancy hat and many jewels.

 ** _Oh, I don't need nobody else!_**

Michello sets the diamond down and growls when he sees Cobra in front of him.

 ** _I'll never fail!  
I'll cover my own tail!_**

Cubellios appeared just in time and flew Cobra away before Michello could grab him. Various shopkeepers tried to grab the giant flying snake, but Cubellios evaded them, whilst Cobra defended himself with various punches and/or kicks.

 ** _I… can… take… care… of myself!_**

Cobra jumped on the head of an elephant and began to dance in a chorus line with female dancers.

 ** _You know, it just don't pay  
To give a hoot!  
I've given all my heart_**  
 ** _What do I get?  
The boot!  
I'm through with that  
I'm walkin' free!_**  
 ** _From here on in  
I'm lookin' out for me!_**

Cobra finished his song by sliding down the elephant's trunk, only to get hit by a bunch of rotten fruit, knocking him out of the jewelry, and in response, the elephant swung its trunk and sent him crashing into a stone wall.

"Ow…" Cobra groaned. "I didn't hear that coming." Nearby, Bora, Michello, and other shopkeepers glared at him.

"Steal from us again, and your slim body will be dinner for the jackals!" Bora yelled at Cobra. "Same goes for your giant hissing playmate!"

"Note to self, Cubellios: never get distracted while singing a number," Cobra mumbled as he slid down from the wall. Cubellios simply hissed.

* * *

Elsewhere, in a different part of Magnolia, Macao was flying the Flying Dragneel with Romeo, Asuka, Happy, and Lucy onboard.

"WOO-HOO! This is fun!" Romeo cheered.

"Aye! I didn't need to use my wings for this one!" Happy agreed.

"It's like a roller coaster ride!" Asuka added.

Macao said, "Here we are, kids. The streets of Magnolia are just down below."

Lucy nodded, "Which leads us to what we're gonna do with all this treasure." And by saying those words meaningfully, she was eying the pile of treasure they've taken from Phantom Lord, while rubbing her hands. She giggled gleefully, "All this treasure… It's as good as ours!"

But then, much to her surprise, Romeo grabbed a bag of treasure and emptied it onto the ground.

"No, don't you dare!" Lucy yelled, grabbing another bag of treasure. "Don't you even think about it!"

"Lucy!" Happy exclaimed.

"What's gotten into you?" Romeo asked.

Lucy argued, "We just went to all this trouble getting this treasure, and now we're giving it up! We can't throw it all away!"

Romeo explained, "Lucy, we didn't plan to get this treasure just because we need it. It's the people down there that need it."

Happy agreed, "Aye. Since Romeo and Asuka live in the palace now, you don't need anything else, right?"

Lucy complained, "But what about Asuka? She's in it for the money as much as I was!"

Asuka shook her head, "Nuh-uh. Mommy said that all the money in the world can't buy happiness. I learned my lesson the day Natsu was out of the dragon scale. Thanks to Romeo, I now know what's really important to me." She raised her arms to make her point, "The power of friendship!"

Romeo chuckled in agreement, "Yeah, like she said."

"No, seriously! I really need a lot of money!" Lucy protested. "I need to pay today's rent!"

Romeo assured with a smile, "Don't worry, Lucy! Why don't you ask Levy to help you get a job? I'm sure the next job request will pay you more than 10,000 Jewels!"

Lucy sighed in defeat, "Okay… I guess."

Happy remarked with a sly smile, "Yep, she's really greedy."

Lucy shouted, "Shut up, cat!"

Macao said to himself, "It seems like only yesterday. The day Brain and the Oración Seis were taken out, I found out my son's engaged to the princess!" He wiped a tear from his eye, "My little boy's all grown up."

Romeo dropped a golden specter into Grandpa Rob's bowl of soup. Grandpa Rob saw this and grinned happily. Next, Asuka and Happy dropped a treasure chest in front of Kagura Mikazuchi and her Mermaid Heel friends.

Risley Law exclaimed happily, "Oh, my gosh!"

Araña Webb added, "It's a miracle!"

Kagura nodded, "Just what I needed to support my family's wellbeing."

Millianna giggled, "That was rosy!"

Beth Vanderwood looked up to see the Flying Dragneel, and called out giving the thumbs up, "Thanks a million, Romeo!"

Romeo called back to the Mermaid Heel girls, "Don't mention it, ladies!"

As Romeo, Asuka, and Happy continued dropping the pile of treasure to the happy citizens, Lucy just stared at what seemed to be the last sack.

Lucy moaned, "You guys…"

Happy assured, "Aw, don't be like that, Lucy. We're not exactly getting rid of everything."

Lucy sighed with relief, "Oh, good. You had me worried for a minute there."

Asuka held the golden necklace she stole from Totomaru for Romeo to examine. She asked, "What do you think of this one, Romeo?"

Romeo smiled, "This'll be a great present for Wendy."

Lucy smacked her forehead, "Geez… I should've known."

* * *

Later, the Flying Dragneel landed on Wendy's balcony at the palace, the others disembarking. Romeo looked around, but then gasped and backed away as the pet dragon Grandeeney advanced towards him, growling.

"Whoa, whoa! Easy, Grandeeney," Romeo said as Asuka, Happy, Lucy, and Macao yelped and quickly hid behind the Flying Dragneel. "You know me, right? It's me, Romeo!"

Grandeeney growled once more and lunged towards Romeo, who screamed and got knocked to the ground. But then Grandeeney's expression changed and she licked Romeo's face repeatedly, causing him to laugh.

"Okay, Grandeeney, okay," Romeo laughed, getting up and shoving Grandeeney off him. "It's good to see you too." He got up and dusted himself off as he turned to his friends, "Well, guys, how do I look?"

"I think you look fine. As fine as a blueberry flower on a spring day," a cute 12 year-old girl's voice said. "That's funny, because blueberry matches my hair."

Romeo smiled and blushed as Wendy Marvell walked out into the balcony. He cried happily, "Wendy!"

Wendy pouted, "Where have you been, Romeo? I missed you."

"Oh, I was out, getting a few errands done. Like this," Romeo explained, before he pulled out the golden necklace. "This is for you."

"Wow! It's lovely!" Wendy admired, and she took the necklace and wore it around her neck. "Thank you, Romeo!" She crushed Romeo's body with a big hug around his body, before she pulled him into a big kiss. Lucy and Macao simply smiled, while Happy and Asuka snickered a bit.

" _She loves him,_ " Happy said in a romantic tone, to which Asuka nodded in agreement.

"Where did you get this?" Wendy asked. "It must've cost a fortune."

Romeo shrugged, "What can I say? It was a steal."

Wendy could simply giggle at Romeo's compliment. As she went back into her room followed by the others, Lucy was secretly watching through the curtains. She saw Wendy taking off the golden necklace and placing it near a vase of calla lilies. Lucy got an idea and chuckled greedily. She was determined to get the golden necklace and sell it to the highest bidder, and who knows, she'll get a lot of money to pay her rent!

 _"_ _I'll be bummed if I don't get it,_ _"_ _Lucy_ thought.

"Why do I get the feeling that Lucy's about to do something crazy?" Happy whispered to Asuka.

"I was hoping you would come back," Wendy said. "Carla wants to invite you and your friends for dinner today. She has a super-duper very important announcement to make."

"What's it about?" Romeo asked.

"You, silly!" Wendy replied teasingly.

"Am I in big trouble?" Romeo gulped nervously.

Wendy giggled, "Let's just say this is one dinner you wouldn't want to miss."

Lucy, meanwhile, hid under the table and reached for the golden necklace, only to get the calla lilies from the flower vase by mistake. She frowned and tossed them away.

Romeo asked, "Can't you at least tell me what's going on?"

Wendy shook her head, "Sorry, I can't tell you. Carla doesn't want me to spoil the surprise."

Back under the table, Lucy was still trying to get the necklace. Soon enough, she grabbed it and smirked, but as she withdrew with the necklace, a white feathered paw slammed her arm to the ground. Lucy looked up to see Grandeeney glaring at her.

"Oh, uh, hello, Grandeeney," Lucy grinned nervously, waving at the white dragon.

"So in other words, I'm not in trouble," Romeo said.

"How can you be in trouble?" Wendy smiled. "You defeated that awful Brain and his Oración Seis, saved Magnolia, and rescued the princess. You're a hero, you deserve a lot." She kissed Romeo on the cheek, making him blush.

Romeo replied slyly, "Well, when you're right, you're right. You know me, always ready for anything."

Suddenly, crash noises are heard. Romeo and Wendy turned to see Grandeeney chasing Lucy all over the room.

"HELP ME! SAVE ME!" Lucy screamed. "That dragon's trying to make a meal out of me!"

"Sorry, Lucy. You're on your own," Happy said as he and Asuka ran out, leaving Lucy to fend for herself.

"Why does this keep happening to me?!" Lucy whined. She frantically scrambled up the curtains and Grandeeney yanked on them, causing Lucy to fall off and land on a bunch of powder, scattering it across the room. When the smoke cleared and the coughs receded, Asuka and Happy frowned at Lucy, while Romeo chuckled sheepishly in front of Wendy.

Wendy said, "You guys might want to clean up before dinner, right?"

Asuka agreed, "Yep. No need to go around like that."

Happy added, "Aye."

Romeo sighed and glanced at Lucy covered in powder. Lucy smiled nervously and held out the golden necklace she swiped during the chase. She asked innocently, "Golden necklace anyone?"

Romeo rolled his eyes, "And you called me underage."


	3. Cobra Turned Over a New Leaf?

Up on a building, Cobra was sitting on a rooftop bemoaning what had happened to him, with Cubellios standing next to him. He said, "It seems like only yesterday. The Oración Seis was running Magnolia, the Six Demons in charge of the show. And I was Brain's right-hand man. Look at what's happened to me now! I'm stuck on the outside looking in! Pretty ironic, isn't it, Cubellios?" He then sighed, "Looks like the only place left to go is the palace. What's a guy to do to get back into power?" Cubellios hissed.

Meanwhile, Romeo, Asuka, and Happy were leaving the palace for a walk around town. Lucy had elected to stay behind to clean herself up, leaving the three to go about on their own.

"So, my esteemed cowgirl and cat friends, with a lot of time to kill, how's about we take a leisurely stroll around town?" Romeo asked.

Happy answered, "Sounds like fun. The common folks are sure looking lively."

Asuka cheered, "Lead the way, Prince Romi Cababwa! Oh, wait. You're not Prince Romi anymore. Because you're gonna be a real prince when you marry Wendy!"

Romeo replied jokingly, "It's no trouble at all, my loyal subjects. When I'm prince, I'm giving each of you a royal promotion!"

The three friends laughed heartily to themselves, all of them failing to notice Cobra and Cubellios watching them.

Cobra frowned, "The street rat is living in the palace now?" Cubellios's only reply was a hiss. Cobra was quiet for a moment before he got really ticked off, " **OKAY, THAT DOES IT! ALL REPORTS ARE IN!** **LIFE IS NOW OFFICIALLY UNFAIR!** " Suddenly, he paused and got an idea, "Wait a minute. Oh, yeah. This is perfect!" He turned to Cubellios, "Cubellios, that kid is our ticket back into power." Cubellios just hissed.

Cobra jumped from the rooftop and landed down into an alley. He then covered himself up with dirt and sand, and messed up his clothes and hair. "I'll just get that Romeo Conbolt on my side with a little _sympathy_ act, then I'll be back in charge faster than you can say, 'Easy Street.'"

Romeo and his friends had just walked around a corner. Suddenly, Romeo yelped as he almost slipped. "What the…?!" As soon as Romeo regained his balance, he and his friends looked down to see Cobra, pretending to be weak and in a bad state.

Cobra groaned, "Romeo? Oh, Romeo? Wherefore art thou, Romeo? Oh, thank goodness I found you… I finally got free from Brain." He then coughed, before he collapsed into the ground.

Asuka and Happy screamed frightfully and held each other's arms, "IT'S COBRA!"

"Cobra?" Romeo exclaimed angrily. "What the heck are you DOING here?!"

Cobra grabbed onto Romeo's leg, as if he is pretending to die, "Where are you, man? It's getting dark. I can't see. Hold me."

But Romeo wasn't falling for that. " **Fire Dragon's Claw!** " He jumped and swung his burning leg towards the grounded Cobra, but missed, forcing the snake wizard to drop his bad attempt of charade. Cobra exclaimed, "Hey! Not like that! Geez, I can even hear your angry thoughts!"

Romeo replied sarcastically, "Yeah, sure. Because you have the supersonic ears that let you hear voices a hundred miles away, even our thoughts." His voice turned serious, "You can't fool anybody, so drop the phony act, unless you want another Fire Dragon's Claw in the stomach, or in the face!" He cracked his knuckles burning with magic fire.

Asuka added, "Or maybe you'll have lots of Guns Magic bullets spelling your name all over your yucky, yucky body!" She summoned her magic miniguns and aimed them at Cobra.

"Make your choice, pal!" Romeo threatened. "Fire or bullets!"

Cobra sweated nervously, "W-W-Wait! You got me all wrong!"

Happy glared, "You're Cobra, all right! Why shouldn't we recognize you by the maroon hair and the snakey face?"

Cobra cried, "No, no, no! I mean, it's not the old me. I was under Brain's spell! He mesmerized me with his magic staff Klodoa!" His eyes became all spirally, looking like he was hypnotized as he added, "Just like the feline Prime Minister."

Romeo, Asuka, and Happy raised their eyebrows, as if they're not convinced.

Cobra argued, "You don't believe me?! Brain is gone, and I've turned over a new leaf! I'm legit! No more scams. Promise!"

Romeo crossed his arms sternly, "Bet that's your new scam. That is, if you even hear our thoughts that we don't believe you."

"But you GOTTA believe me! You just GOTTA! I was stuck inside that genie lamp with Brain, remember?" Cobra explained. "Well, I finally escaped. But then some things happened, and…" He sighed, unable to explain more.

Romeo smirked, "So, free as a snake, huh?"

Happy smiled jokingly, "Have fun!"

Asuka, on the other hand, was the only one in the group showing concern for the poor snake wizard. She softly pointed out, "Aw, look at him. Cobra must be awful sad."

Romeo and Happy were dumbstruck, "Huh?"

Cobra sighed with relief, "Well, at least somebody's putting in a good word for me."

Asuka nodded with a smile, "Sure! We can do that, can't we?"

Just then, Cobra noticed something approaching. He shouted, "Watch out!"

Romeo, Asuka, and Happy turned to see Phantom Lord wizards appearing, with Totomaru, Boze, and Sue leading the charge.

"It's Phantom!" Happy exclaimed.

Totomaru pointed at Romeo, "It's that meddling boy, Romeo Conbolt! The one who led Fairy Tail to discover our hideout! Burn him! Burn him to the ground! And his little cowgirl and cat too!"

A fight immediately ensued. Romeo scrambled up a pile of barrels, causing them to land on a few Phantom Lord wizards. He proceeded to take out the rest with his Fire Dragon Slayer Magic. Meanwhile, Asuka uses her Guns Magic to paralyze the other group of marauding Phantom Lord wizards, utilizing various attacks such as **Tornado Shot** , **Sun Shot** , and **Mud Shot.**

Happy quickly stretched out a rope and used it to trip Boze off his feet. Boze recovered and growled upon seeing Cobra, "You dirty little snake! I'll put you to sleep with my Sound Magic!"

"Hey, hey, whoa. I'm not with him," Cobra protested before Cubellios grabbed him and flew him away, getting chased by Boze.

Meanwhile, Romeo and Asuka continued fighting against the Phantom Lord wizards. But with each thug taken out, two more seemed to take his/her place. Nonetheless, they're doing the best they can to fight them off. Romeo performed a **Fire Dragon's Wing Attack** that sent Totomaru flying onto Cobra, knocking him off Cubellios and sending both crashing into a fruit stand, breaking it in the process. Soon, the battle became tiresome for Romeo and Asuka as the Phantom Lord wizards cornered them.

Romeo panted, "There's too many of them!"

Asuka cried, "What do we do?"

Sue chuckled, "You're dancin' with the phantoms now, kids!"

Meanwhile, Cobra recovered and pulled a watermelon off his head, spitting seeds in the process. He became very enraged.

"Okay, that's it!" Cobra snarled. "They messed with the wrong guy!"

Totomaru recovered and spat a fish stuck in his mouth. He turned to see Cobra's hands turning purple and transforming into menacing snake claws fuming with a purple mist of magic.

Cobra smirked, "You're fighting the Poison Dragon now! It's over for you!"

Totomaru exclaimed, "You're a Dragon Slayer, too?!"

"Here's an up-close demonstration! **Poison Dragon's Roar!** " Cobra inhaled and exhaled a powerful purple gust from his mouth, blowing away all of the Phantom Lord wizards and sending them flying and crashing into an ice cream stand. BOOM! The result of the crash caused all of the ice cream to splatter all over the Phantom Lord guildmates.

Boze groaned, "I feel tooty-fruity."

Sue agreed, "Me, too."

Romeo and his friends looked astonished as they looked up to see Cobra standing proudly with hands on his hips. He said, "And there's more where that came from."

"My ice cream, ruined!" the owner of the ice cream stand named Wally Buchanan yelled. "That is definitely not dandy! Who's gonna pay for that?!"

"Oh, go away, blockhead," Boze said in annoyance.

"Guards, guards!" Wally called out.

The Phantom Lord wizards recovered and are horrified to see Panther Lily and the guards Byro Cracy, Sugarboy, Mary Hughes, Coco, Dan Straight, and Samuel approaching.

"What seems to be the trouble here?" Lily asked.

Coco pointed out, "Wizards from Phantom Lord! They are responsible for stealing treasures all throughout the countryside while masquerading as a Legal Guild!"

"RETREAT!" Totomaru screamed, and he, Boze, Sue, and the Phantom Lord wizards ran off into the streets.

"After them!" Lily ordered as he and the guards chased after the escaping villains.

Cobra brushed himself off after his snake hands reverted to normal, "Glad that's over with."

Romeo said in disbelief, "Wow… I… I don't know how to say this… but thanks. You saved us. And... I have no idea you're a Dragon Slayer, too."

Cobra shrugged, "Well, what can I say? If that didn't show I changed, what else could?"

Suddenly, Happy stuffed Cobra's face with a small sack.

Happy cried, "I got him, Romeo! Get him while he's distracted!"

"Hey, hey! What are you doing? Get it off my face!" Cobra yelled, pulling the sack off his face and shooing Happy away. "Is this how you repay someone who rescued you? You owe me one, Romeo! I saved your life!"

Romeo paused to take a moment of thought from what had transpired. Finally, he spoke up, "You know what? He's right."

Happy exclaimed, "What?! Have you really lost it, Romeo? He's one of the Oración Seis! And even if he did change, we can't trust him now!"

"Look, why don't we just give him a chance?" Romeo eased. "It hurts to turn away someone who helped us. I promised myself I would never leave behind or turn my back on a friend, and that's what friends are for!" He then shrugged, "I mean, after all, this isn't the first time I've seen someone from the side of evil join the side of good! I remember the time when Juvia used to be a member of Phantom's Element 4, who left the guild to join Fairy Tail because she fell in love with Gray."

Asuka agreed with Romeo, "He's got a point. We'd be goners if Cobra hadn't helped us. Isn't that right, Cobra?"

Cobra nodded, "Yeah. It's in my nature. I'm always helping things. Cats, babies, kids like you, always helping."

Romeo smiled softly, "I guess we really owe you one, Cobra. But if you want to make up for what you've done, you'll have to win everyone over by yourself. Be on your best behavior, got it?"

Cobra replied, "I hear you on that."

Romeo offered, "First, we have to make sure Carla gives you a chance."

Cobra's eyes widened in shock, " **WHAT?!** "


	4. Nothing in the World

Before Cobra could blink, he had been put in a cage back at the palace.

" **CARLA?!** " he screamed, before he tried to get out of the cage, only for Romeo to shut it and lock it.

Romeo assured with a smile, "Cobra, relax. I'll go talk to her. I'm sure she'll see a reason for you to be trusted. She'll soften a little."

Cobra yelled, "Have you lost your mind?! **SHE HATES ME!** And what about the **PRINCESS?!** "

Happy raised a paw to state his point, "He's right."

Asuka added, "Wendy was awful upset about what happened with Cobra. If she sees him…"

Romeo fretted, "Just relax, guys. We'll make sure she doesn't see Cobra until we got her prepped up."

"Got me prepped for what?"

Romeo yelped upon seeing Wendy, and Happy and Asuka were quick to block Cobra from sight.

"Um… to notice the stain on the new shirt you gave Asuka?" Romeo lied.

"Stain? What stain?" Asuka asked, until Happy covered her mouth with his paws.

"I don't see a stain," Wendy said.

"Okay, then I guess there wasn't a stain," Romeo smiled nervously. "Off to dinner."

"Romeo, is something wrong?" Wendy asked suspiciously.

"Wr-Wr-Wrong?" Romeo gulped. "N-N-Nothing's wrong!"

Wendy placed her hands on her hips, "Oh, come on! It's as if you're hiding a secret from me!"

"Secret…?" Romeo sweated nervously as he looked at Happy, who quickly made the neck slice gesture. "Of course not! You know I almost lost you that way. I'll never make that mistake again."

Romeo and Wendy smiled at each other and leaned in to kiss… until the ground begins to shake, causing Happy and Asuka to hug each other.

Asuka cried, "Jumping jellyfish!"

Happy added, "The ground's shaking!"

"Huh?!" Romeo and Wendy said as they turned.

Suddenly, the fountain nearby fired water high into the sky and began to form a spout resembling a tidal wave. Everyone saw a familiar figure happily riding on a surfboard, dressed in Hawaiian clothing and sunglasses, and holding luggage. It's Natsu Dragneel, the ex-Genie of the Dragon Scale who returned from his vacation around the world.

"He's BIG and he's FIRE-BREATHING and he's BACK!" Natsu declared. amongst the invisible bells and whistles and applause. "NATSU DRAGNEEL IS HOOOOOOOOOME!"

Macao arrived in the balcony and greeted Romeo, "Hey, kiddo. What's up?"

"ROMEO! It's been eons!" Natsu suddenly hugged Macao, thinking the old man was Romeo, much to Macao's surprise and Romeo's dismay. "Romeo, you princely little muffin, you!" Natsu teleported back into the air, "Cosmic travel can get so lonely without a friend." He placed an arm on Macao's shoulder, then teleported and placed his other arm on Macao's other shoulder, "To think I left you forlorn and Natsu-less… Oh, the HUMANITY!" Natsu shook Macao, then comedically rubbed his eyes with tears.

Romeo asked quietly, "Um, Natsu?"

Still completely oblivious to Romeo and the others, Natsu continued, "Hey, Romeo! You've been puttin' on weight?" He grew several feet wider, then teleported away to Macao's face. Romeo's father is completely disheveled! "Aw, of course, what am I saying? You're living in the palace now!" Natsu spun around and a second Natsu appeared, "Romeo (in Wendy's words)! Wendy (in Romeo's words)!" The two Natsus hug and fireworks shoot out from behind them. One makes a heart shape in the sky. Natsu appeared again next to Macao's face, "I can just picture it…" He slapped a hand on Macao's back, slightly hard. He reappeared, but as a small version, "Wait, tell me. Am I being a pest? Just a big salmon pest? Aw, who cares, Romeo? I'm just so glad to SEE you!" Natsu poofed back to his normal size and shook both of Macao's hands. Macao had almost lost his balance.

"Natsu!" Romeo called impatiently.

Having snapped out of it, Natsu looked from Romeo to Macao, and having realized his mistake, he released his grip on Romeo's father. "Oops."

"What a day…" Macao wheezed, before he fainted dizzily.

"Natsu…" Romeo's eyes welled up in tears of joy, happy to see the best friend/big brother he never had for the first time in a long while. He ran towards Natsu and jumped with open arms, " **NATSSSSSUUUU!** "

" **ROMEO!** " Natsu exclaimed with joyful tears of his own and hugged Romeo, the two laughing and hugging each other heartily.

"Natsu! I thought I'd never see you again!" Romeo cried.

"That's the same line Romeo said when he found his dad," Wendy pointed out. Her expression then turned joyful with tears as well, "But I'm so glad to see him too!" She joined Romeo and Natsu, increasing the group hug to three. "I miss you, Natsu!"

"Me too!" Happy cheered, joining the group hug and making it up to four.

"Me three!" Asuka cheered, becoming the fifth to join the group hug.

The group hug was strong and squeezing enough to turn Natsu's skin red, and the latter yelled, " **OH, AH, OOH! WATCH THE SUNBURN!** " But then Natsu went back to normal and laughed playfully, "Just kidding! Did you miss me?" He held out his luggage to Asuka, "Take care of these, my good cowgirl friend."

"No problem, I got them," Asuka smiled. She took the luggage, but then got weighed down by the suitcases, "They got me too!"

Natsu chuckled sheepishly, "Sorry about that. Should've told you they were heavy. Hey, guess what? I got souvenirs for everybody!" He plonked a sombrero on Romeo's head, gave a huge teddy bear to Wendy, gave a beautiful pearl to Asuka, and puts a soda hat on Happy's head, a little flag in one paw that spells 'N & H', and a hotdog in a bun in the other.

Romeo cheered, "This is incredible! How are you doing, Natsu? You saw the whole world already? Like, in a week?"

Natsu splits into five miniature Natsus, each dressed from different countries.

Natsus: **_It's a small world after all!_**

Natsu went back to normal as he explained, "But Magnolia has something that no other place in the world has." He turned into a rocket, lit up, and flew around the garden. He cried happily, "You guys!"

Romeo, Wendy, Asuka, and Happy watched as Natsu began to sing about his trip, with scenes of the places he visited appearing in the background.

Natsu: **_I parachuted down i_** _ **nto the Taj Mahal**_  
 ** _I rollerbladed all along_** _ **the great Great Wall!**_  
 ** _I even made the famous_** _ **leaning Tower fall**_  
 ** _But, who was with me through it all?_**  
 ** _Nobody!_**

 ** _The Moscow Circus_** ** _hired me to fly trapeze!_**  
 ** _On Mount Olympus, won_** _ **a race with Hercules!**_  
 ** _It's easy when you're being chased by KILLER BEES!_**  
 ** _Who said "Gesundheit" when I sneezed?  
_** _ **ACHOO!**_

 ** _So now, I'm home  
Home again with you  
_** _ **You chase the clouds away**_  
 ** _Whenever I am blue_**

"Since when are you blue?" Romeo asked.

 ** _Not in the pyramids  
_** _ **I highly recommend**_  
 ** _There is nothing in the world  
Quite like a friend!_**

 ** _Slept like a babe in Bombay_** _ **on a bed of nails**_  
 ** _Moroccans loved my daring Dance of Seven Veils!_**  
 ** _Why, single-handedly, I e_** _ **ven saved the whales!**_  
 ** _No one was there to hear my tales!_** (starts bawling)

 ** _In Acapulco,_** ** _joined a Mariachi band_**  
 ** _I rode the ragin' rapids d_** _ **own the Rio Grande!**_  
 ** _Flew in an air balloon, but when I tried to land_**  
 ** _Nobody laughed or lent a hand!_**

 ** _Without you, the Amazon is just a trickle!_**  
 ** _With you, the Sahara's not so hot_**  
 ** _Without you, Niagara Falls is just a leaky faucet_**  
 ** _And the Huey II is just some yacht!_**

 ** _Now that I'm home,  
Home again, it's clear_**  
 ** _All I ever wanted  
_** _ **Seems to be right here**_

 ** _I've traveled_** **_east_** **_and west_** (heads appearing from his shoulders left and right)  
 ** _And now I'm back again!  
And there's nothing in the world  
_** _ **Quite like a friend!**_

Romeo: **_There's nothing in the world_**

Wendy: **_Nothing in the whole wide world_**

Romeo, Wendy, Asuka, Happy, and Natsu: **_There's nothing in the world  
Quite like a friend!_**

The five concluded the song as we zoom out from the palace to the earth into outer space. Natsu appeared beside the earth and spun it on his fingertip like a basketball.

Natsu: **_Nothing in the whole wide world!_**

"So, Natsu, how does it feel to be free?" Romeo asked.

"Seriously? I LOVE IT!" Natsu cheered, before his back cracked and he groaned, "Okay, maybe my powers aren't what they used to be. Let's say they're semi-phenomenal, nearly cosmic…" He shrunk down slightly, "…but don't sell me short." He grew big again, "I may be free from the dragon scale…" He poofed into a magician's attire, "…but I still have some magic in me. Heck, I can still do this!" Natsu poofed up a bouquet of flowers, but just then the head of the demon Deliora popped out of the bouquet, latched onto the ex-genie's face, and sucked it right off.

"WHOA!" Natsu exclaimed in a muffled voice, as he reached into Deliora's mouth and put his face back on. "Hate to lose my face in front of you guys. Give me another chance. Best two out of three." He poofed a box in front of him and a saw in his hand, "Who's first? I'm a natural at this."

Romeo replied, "As much as we'd like to stay around, we've got to have—"

"Dinner!" Wendy realized. "We're late!"

"Oh," Natsu said. "You probably have a romantic dinner for two." He drooped, "You probably don't need a magical dragon kid gumming up the works."

"But, Natsu…" Romeo tried to reason.

Natsu turned away sadly, "No, no. Three's a crowd. You guys go on."

Wendy smiled, "Natsu, it's nice to see you again, but it would be really nice if you joined us for dinner."

"Y-You would?" Natsu asked eagerly, to which Romeo and Wendy nodded. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" He happily hugged Romeo and Wendy and flew up the stairs, "Last one in the kitchen gets to clean up after dinner!"

As they headed for the palace, Asuka and Happy eagerly followed, but Romeo stopped them, "Sorry, guys. You have a job to do, remember?"

"You're kidding me," Happy whined. "You're telling us we have to babysit a snake guy?"

Romeo nodded with a grin, "Yep!"

Asuka saluted Romeo, "You can count on us, Romeo! We'll take care of Cobra!"

Romeo saluted back, "See to it you do, cowgirl."

Asuka and Happy walked back to Cobra's cage, with Happy grumbling under his breath. Natsu appeared in front of Romeo, dressed in cowboy attire.

"Giddy-up, slowpoke, what's keepin' ya?" Natsu asked.

"Nothing," Romeo shook his head. "Well, actually something, but I'll tell you later." He then smiled and playfully punched Natsu in the chest, "Race ya, bro!"

"You're on!" Natsu dared, and the two raced inside the palace together in laughter.

Wendy smiled to herself, "Romeo sure is happy to see Natsu again. He's like a big brother to him…" She held her hand to her heart, "…and to me."


	5. Brain is Back

At night, out in the desert outside of Magnolia, Totomaru, Boze, Sue, and their Phantom Lord lackeys had escaped from Panther Lily and his guards, and stopped at a well to clean up. Totomaru, Boze, and Sue are getting water from the well, while the others are resting up.

"That accursed Romeo Conbolt," Totomaru fumed. "Making a fool out of Totomaru of the Great Fire. When I get the chance, I'll make him suffer by taking a thin slice from his carcass!"

Boze interjected, "Of course, that kid's not the only one we're getting revenge on. It's that bossy, greedy, spoiled old coot, Master Jose."

Sue sighed, "If only Totomaru sliced Master Jose to ribbons when he had the chance…"

Totomaru assured, "Don't worry, my friends. We're going to find something that will put Master Jose AND Romeo Conbolt out of their miseries at the same time. When we get the chance, we'll take it. But for now, we must wash up. It's bad enough Jose had to look at us, albeit smelling like cow dung."

Totomaru had gotten the bucket of water out and dumped the whole thing all over his head, before something fell out of the bucket, hitting his head.

"Ouch…" Totomaru groaned. "I need to register a complaint to the one who runs this well." Soon enough, he, Boze, and Sue saw what hit Totomaru. It was a certain black lamp from the second chapter.

"What, what do you know?" Sue stroked her chin. "It's a lamp."

"Maybe it could be worth a few credits once it's cleaned up," Boze said.

"Here, I'll clean it up," Totomaru offered, as he picked up the lamp and rubbed it. Suddenly, the lamp began to shake, glow, and spaz out. Green energy poured out of the lamp, making all of the Phantom Lord wizards freak out.

" **IT'S BEWITCHED!** " Boze yelled, before everyone but Totomaru, who was still holding the lamp, mounted their horses and rode off.

"Sorry, Boss! You rubbed it, so it's your call! See ya!" Sue cried.

"Nice knowing ya!" Boze shouted.

Totomaru was shocked to see his fellow guildmates leaving him behind. "Wait! Where are you—?"

All the while, maniacal laughter echoed from the lamp and Totomaru's horse rode off on its own. As the evil laughter continued, Totomaru stared on with an extremely horrified look on his face as the laughter got louder.

Brain, the ex-leader of the Oración Seis, has risen again, and he appeared in the sky in his green genie form.

" _ **YES! FINALLY, I AM FREE!**_ " Brain shouted triumphantly. " _ **Free with a vengeance upon he who has imprisoned me!**_ " Brain attempted to fly off, but his shackles glowed and restrained him, keeping him from leaving. " ** _Why can't I move? Of course… It is the curse of the lamp,_** " Brain realized. " _ **All the power of the universe, and I am bound by the rules of the genie! Which means… I can't kill that upstart, Romeo Conbolt.**_ " But then he stopped and smirked evilly when he saw a cowering Totomaru, and added, " _ **Unless… I have someone arrange it for me. You! Take me to Magnolia at once!**_ "

Brain looked down at Totomaru, who started stuttering and babbling like an idiot because of how scared he was.

Brain admitted, " _ **I guess I am a bit too much for his simple mind. Alright, I'm flexible.**_ " He then wrapped his arms around himself, dissolved into green smoke, and turned into his human form. "I trust you find me a little less overwhelming now? I must apologize for startling you. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Brain, as all in this kingdom would know."

Totomaru was suddenly surprised upon hearing that name. He asked, "Wait… You're… Brain?"

Brain nodded, "Yes."

"THE Brain, as in, the leader of the infamous Oración Seis?"

"Six Demons, Six Prayers, Six Unwavering Pillars," Brain recited the Oración Seis' motto with a grin.

Totomaru was acting like a fanboy as he excitedly exclaimed, "It's really him! That's Brain of the Oración Seis!" He then composed himself, "Oh, I'm sorry. It's just a force of habit. I should introduce myself as well. I'm Totomaru of the Great Fire, from the Phantom Lord Guild. I was a big fan of your work since I was a trainee in the art of the katana."

Brain remarked with a chuckle, "You are astonishingly perceptive. A young man of good taste. And yes, I was the leader of the Oración Seis, until a certain little boy cost us our dream of conquering Magnolia. And look where that got me now." He was referring to himself being trapped in the lamp as a genie.

Totomaru asked timidly, "You're now a genie of the lamp? According to legend, the one who holds the lamp can get three wishes."

Brain replied, "Yes, that is a minor formality. But first, I must go to Magnolia. You will take the lamp there for me."

"So you would need me…" Totomaru thought for a moment, and then smirked. He spoke up, "Alright, I'll take you, but _first_ , I want my three wishes."

Angrily, Brain fired a series of green energy blasts at Totomaru, who gasped and ran around trying to dodge the blasts, before he braced himself.

" **Why you…!** " Brain bellowed as he is about to strike him, but he stopped and smiled. When he spoke again, it indicated that he calmed down, "Very well. Since that is the case, you _shall_ have your wishes."

Totomaru asked nervously, "Any wish I want?"

Brain nodded, "Almost everything."

"Anything? I mean, of course! Anything!" Totomaru grinned. "I want power, recognition, riches… Oh, wait, I know!" He then voiced his decision, raising his hands high, " **I wish to be the Guild Master of Phantom Lord!** "

Brain complied with a sarcastic bow, "Your wish is my command." With that, the two poofed away.

Totomaru reappeared in a dark place where he is sitting on a skeletal throne. Before he could stand up, he was surrounded by thousands of giggling ghosts. The ghosts chanted, "We are the Phantoms! And you are our Lord! How may we serve you, Phantom Lord?"

Totomaru screamed frightfully upon the mere sight of the ghosts. It turns out he wished for Brain to _literally_ make him the Phantom Lord!

Brain reappeared and said sympathetically, "Poor sweet baby. Aren't we enjoying our wish? As they always say, you should be careful what you wish for, because the more you wish, the more difficult the magic is to control."

Totomaru just kept shivering and shivering as the ghosts kept circling him, 'worshipping' him like a god. "Perhaps you wish me to give your title of Phantom Lord to somebody else?" Brain asked, and Totomaru nodded vigorously. "Very well."

They poofed back to the desert, and Totomaru stopped shivering and breathed, relived that the ghosts are gone.

"That was two wishes," Brain pointed out. "Take your time with the third." He added in a threatening voice, "Or you'll wish you had never been born." Totomaru gulped nervously, understanding that Brain was in charge, and Totomaru wasn't about to argue. Brain continued, "On the other hand, if you cooperate with me, I shall see to it that you are rewarded."

"Rewarded, you say?" Totomaru said curiously.

Brain replied with a reassuring smile, "Of course. Once we have finished our work, you'll be rewarded handsomely beyond mortal comprehension."

Totomaru complied, "Very well, I'll help you in any way I can. What do we do first?"

Brain proposed, "You will help me get revenge on the one who defeated me. A certain street rat by the name of… _Romeo Conbolt._ " His voice got eviler when saying that name.

"Romeo Conbolt?" Totomaru exclaimed angrily. "I want revenge on him, too!" He pulled out his katana and swung it multiple times as he continued, "He robbed my guild, made a fool out of me, and fought dirty! My brilliant swordsmanship availed me not!" He was interrupted when Brain pulled him close.

"Let's not be too hasty, my simple-minded friend," Brain assured. "It's not enough that we simply destroy Romeo. After all, there are things _so_ much worse than death."

Brain then laughed darkly as Totomaru grinned along. Working for Brain wouldn't be so bad after all.

Time to carry out the evil genie's revenge scheme.


	6. Dinner Crashers

"A toast to Romeo Conbolt, the hero of Magnolia!" declared Carla, Magnolia's Prime Minister and Wendy's guardian as she rose a glass of water.

Everyone at the royal dinner table cheered and raised their glasses in commemoration of Romeo, who blushed with a smile. Sitting with Romeo are Wendy, Carla, and some of the prominent members of Fairy Tail the likes of Lucy Heartfilia, Gray Fullbuster, and Erza Scarlet, among others.

"And you must be Erza Scarlet, one of two of the only female S-Class Wizards in the guild, next to Mirajane," Romeo conversed with the wizard in armor. "I heard your magic is nearly phenomenal as Natsu's!"

Erza chuckled, "It appears Magnolia's greatest hero holds great knowledge of our guild as well."

"Are you kidding?" Romeo grinned excitedly, "I've been a big fan of your guild ever since my dad joined! Dad was the leader of Fairy Tail's strongest team, with you, Lucy, and Gray as its members. You took down dozens of Dark Guilds who tried to take over Magnolia, like Eisenwald and Ghoul Spirit…" He added with a sheepish chuckle, "…but not the Oración Seis because they captured you and left the whole guild for missing, right?"

Erza replied, "Yes, we all remembered what the Oración Seis did to us that fateful day. But if it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be here to assist you in the decisive battle, and the Princess wouldn't have been saved."

Romeo blushed, "Don't thank me. Thank Carla. She wished you back here."

Erza chuckled again at Romeo's reply as everyone turned to see Natsu dressed in a Japanese chef's outfit and showing off some tricks.

Natsu said, "Okay, guys, I hope you're all ready for a culinary treat. This is a trick I've learned from a sushi bar at Akane Resort." He threw a carrot up into the air and swung his knife as fast as lightning, chopping it into little pieces. "Hi-yah!" He did the same thing with meat, fish, and vegetables, amusing everyone in the dinner table. Natsu kept doing it until he sliced his own hand off. "Whoops!" Just then, his hand stood up on its own and a cane poofed into the fingers, before it began doing a jig in front of Carla.

Carla giggled and clapped, "How delightful."

"Delightful, right," Natsu nodded. "Excuse me while I pull myself together." He picked his hand up and screwed it back on.

"You know, for an ex-genie who spent a lifetime flying around the world looking like an idiot, you're really good," Gray said smugly, whose white long-sleeved coat and purple shirt have been taken off due to his 'stripping habit.'

"Hey, I may not be a genie anymore, but I still have magic," Natsu argued. "And would it kill you to wear a shirt for once?"

"Would it kill you to shut your mouth and eat like everybody else, Flame-brain?" Gray asked back.

"What's THAT supposed to mean, Snowman?!" Natsu angrily demanded.

"I figured you wouldn't have any idea what THAT meant, because you slept in a dragon scale for thousands of years, Ash-for-Brains!" Gray yelled and the two got into each other's faces while a spark appeared between them.

"Alright, that's enough out of you!" Erza demanded, and she broke up the fight by pushing the two apart. "What is going on here? This is supposed to be a feast where we should celebrate, not fight each other!"

"Well, talk to Frosty here!" Natsu pointed at Gray. "He started it!"

Gray added, "And I said he's an ex-genie!"

Erza said sternly, "In our guild, it is supposed to be a place where people could find jobs, work together, and fulfill their dreams. But the most important morale of all is each of the guild members treating each other like family. It's absolutely NOT a place for fighting, even for a genie or an ex-genie."

Natsu sighed in defeat, "Fine. I'll just get along with Ice Breath here." He grumbled, "For now."

Gray sighed as well, "Me too. I'll let him play along." He grumbled, "For now."

Erza smiled contently, "Good. I'm glad to see the two of you being friends. That is the way of things in Fairy Tail."

Romeo whispered to Lucy, "I guess Natsu found himself a rival for the first time in forever, huh?"

Lucy giggled, "You said it."

"May I have everyone's attention, please?" Carla announced, tapping a spoon in her glass to interrupt the feast. "To each of you members of Fairy Tail, you have proven time and time again that you are Magnolia's heroes. But the bravest hero of all is Romeo Conbolt, who saved my ward, Princess Wendy Marvell, and brought the Oración Seis to justice." She turned to Romeo, "Whilst standing in the face of all adversity, you stood tall, brave, faithful, heroic, and ultimately prevailed over the Six Demons. On behalf of the kingdom and her late Majesty Queen Grandeeney, I, Prime Minister Carla, hereby appoint you, Romeo Conbolt, as my royal vizier."

"M-Me?" Romeo asked in surprise. "Really?"

"Wow! Royal vizier!" Wendy said delightfully. "Isn't it great?"

Natsu appeared beside Romeo and cheered, "What a glorious moment!" He poofed Romeo into a white and yellow sparkling uniform, "Romeo Conbolt would like to thank the Academy for this great honor!" He handed Romeo some golden award and shook his hand. He then starts selling Romeo merchandise to the Fairy Tail wizards, from plushies to dresses to dolls, you name it! "You want 'em? We got 'em! Romeo merchandise! Get your Romeo merchandise here!" Natsu reappeared wearing medieval attire and blowing on a horn, and announced, "All hail Romeo, the royal vizier!" He poofed Romeo back into his normal attire, before he asked Carla, "So, what's a royal vizier?"

Carla explained, "To put it simply, he'll be my most trusted advisor."

"Well, that's good. I mean, he's bound to be better than that Brain character," Lucy said, Natsu's head poofing into Brain's to make his point.

"Quite so," Carla nodded.

"Not to mention Cobra and the rest of the Oración Seis," Gray said in disgust, getting Romeo's attention. "Talk about trouble with a capital T."

"Uh, guys?" Romeo asked nervously, but no one seemed to hear him.

"You're tellin' me!" Natsu agreed. "Cobra is Senor Psychopath's No#1 lackey. I can remember him torturing Carla like that, saying…" His head poofed into Cobra's and got into Carla's face, as he mocked Cobra's voice, "…'Carla want a cookie? Carla want a cookie?'" His head turned back to normal, "Remember that?"

"I can still taste the treachery that traitor committed," Carla angrily shuddered.

"Well, at least you don't see this guy hanging out with evil snake dudes," Natsu said, giving Romeo a noogie.

Romeo chuckled sheepishly, "Uh, yeah, about that… Funny you should mention Cobra…"

 **Meanwhile, out in the courtyard…**

Asuka and Happy were taking turns keeping an eye on Cobra. Right now, Happy was on duty, and Cobra was trying to get him to let him out of the cage after his failed attempt with Asuka. Asuka was yawning as she was sleepy, while Happy looked bored.

Happy pouted, "It's not fair. I wanted to join Romeo and the others for dinner. I bet they have lots of good fish!"

Cobra whispered to Happy, "Hey, cat? Buddy? How about you let me outta here, huh? I'll give you lots of fish if you open up the cage. Yummy yum fish."

Happy smiled deviously, "Oh, I get it. You think I would always fall for fish." His face turned serious, "Look, I'm a cat and I like fish and all, but I'm not that dumb."

"Come on!" Cobra complained. "I've got a family at Rosemary Village!"

Happy bluffed, "Give it up, snake eyes! You know you can fool me!"

Just then, Happy noticed Grandeeney not too far from here. He smirked devilishly while Asuka wiped her eyes and looked at Happy's devious smirk.

"Happy?" Asuka asked sleepily. "What's going on?"

Happy snickered, "I've got an idea."

Cobra frowned, "Alright, that's it! I'm giving you kids the count of three to open this cage, or I'm gonna bust it open myself! 1… 2…"

Happy simply opened the cage door, much to Cobra's surprise. "Okay, the cage's open. You're free to go."

"Well, it's about time," Cobra smiled and made ready to walk out, until he screamed frightfully when he saw Grandeeney growling at him.

" **CLOSE THE CAGE!** " Cobra frantically shuts the door, but Happy tried to open it, and soon were opening and closing the door in a tug of war game. " **CLOSE IT, CLOSE IT, CLOSE IT!** "

Happy pointed out, "Hey, you wanted it open! What you want is what you get!"

Asuka interjected, "But Happy, our job is to keep Cobra inside the cage, remember?"

Happy noticed Grandeeney coming closer. He eventually released the cage door from his paws, and shrugged, "Okay, you win. C'mon, Asuka!" He stretched his wings and dragged Asuka out of the way.

"Whoa!" Asuka yelped.

Grandeeney tackled the cage, knocking it down and breaking it with her claws. Cobra squeezed out and dusted himself off, and turned towards Grandeeney. He transformed his hands into snake claws and frowned, "Look, little dragon. I'm a Dragon Slayer, and I slay dragons, as the title suggests. Unless you want to be turned into a dragon rug, you back off!"

Grandeeney gave a loud, ear-piercing roar at Cobra's face, which damaged his supersonic ears badly. After all, the weakness of someone who has supersonic ears is a very loud supersonic noise. " **MY EAAAAAAARRRRRS!** " He shrieked in pain, covering his ears.

Grandeeney smirked at a disoriented Cobra as she advanced. Cobra chuckled nervously, "Then again, that wouldn't be the right way to get on your master's side, so…"

Cobra turned and made a dash into the palace screaming like a girl, with Grandeeney giving chase. Happy and Asuka simply stared on, shooting nervous looks at each other.

"Uh-oh," they both exclaimed.

Inside the palace, Cobra continued running from Grandeeney. " **HELP, ROMEO! YOUR CRAZY CAT'S TRYING TO KILL ME! I SAVED YOUR LIFE! IT'S PAYBACK TIME!** "

Happy flew with Asuka to Grandeeney, and Asuka yanked on her tail. "I GOT IT!" Asuka cried as she and Happy tried to stop Grandeeney, but she charged forward anyway, lunged up, and caught Cobra with her claws. But when Grandeeney landed on her belly, she slid into the dining hall with Cobra, Asuka, and Happy screaming. When Natsu noticed Grandeeney, he poofed away and the pet dragon crashed into the dining table, making a huge mess. Luckily, no one was hurt.

"Grandeeney! What were you thinking? You know better than to tear around the palace like that!" Wendy scolded Grandeeney.

Carla turned to Romeo with a sheepish chuckle and said, "Disregarding the mess Wendy's pet dragon had caused, let's get back to the subject. You said something about bringing up that deceitful man, Cobra."

"That's exactly what I'm gonna—" Before Romeo began, he looked down and screamed at the top of his lungs to see Cobra pinned to the floor by Grandeeney, and Happy and Asuka feeling dizzy. When the young cowgirl and the blue Exceed regained a bit of consciousness, they looked at Romeo with a nervous smile.

"My… strawberry cake…" Erza exclaimed frightfully upon seeing her favorite strawberry cake squashed by Cobra's head.

"Ow… my ears… and my head," Cobra groaned, and as soon as he regained his senses, he looked up to realize he had been discovered by Carla and the Fairy Tail wizards. He gulped, and so does Romeo, who both knew the secret was out.

"Hey!" Lucy yelled.

"Look!" Gray shouted.

"It's…" Wendy covered her mouth.

"Cobra!" Carla gasped.

"GET HIM!" Erza shouted.

Cobra did not like where this was going. Trying to prevent the inevitable brawl, he chuckled nervously, "Come on, guys. Let's talk about this."

But it was too late. All of the Fairy Tail wizards engaged Cobra in an all-out brawl that decimated the surrounding dining hall. Sometimes, the Fairy Tail wizards would elect to fight each other for sport and fun, but still, they are fighting against the same evil wizard.

Romeo was heavily dismayed. He pleaded, "No, stop! Please! Stop! NO! STOP!"

The ugly fight continued, until Cobra was heavily beaten, bruised, and unable to fight back. He was restrained by Asuka's parents Alzack and Bisca, two of Carla's personal guard.

"Well done, Alzack and Bisca. Now, throw him into the dungeon along with the rest of Brain's minions!" Carla commanded.

"It'll be a pleasure!" Bisca complied, brandishing her Guns Magic rifle. "All five of Brain's minions in one basket!"

"No! Mr. and Mrs. Connell, don't!" Romeo cried as she restrained Bisca.

Alzack exclaimed, "Hey! What's your deal, kid?"

"Let go of my rifle!" Bisca demanded.

"You don't understand! Just listen!" Romeo shouted.

"Prime Minister?" Alzack asked Carla, confused on what to do.

"Well, I trust she has an explanation for this… this assault?" Carla asked sternly, turning to Romeo with her arms crossed, and tapping her foot on the floor.

"He had better…" Wendy nodded, glaring at Romeo and placing her hands on her hips in agreement.

Romeo tried to reason with everyone, "Guys, you gotta understand. Cobra said he was…"

"Mesmerized," Cobra finished for him.

"Yeah, that's right! He was under Brain's spell! Remember than skull staff named Klodoa? Cobra was only… Well, I dunno…" Romeo trailed off, not sure how to put it, but managed to regroup, "Look, all I know is that Cobra's not all that bad. At least I don't think so." Wendy, Carla, and the Fairy Tail members found it hard to believe, while Asuka and Happy thought that statement just sounded dumb, as proved by Happy face palming.

"Shoulda stuck with the Klodoa hypnotism bit," Cobra muttered to himself.

"'Not all that bad?'" Carla asked incredulously. "He's a member of the Oración Seis! The right-hand man of my treacherous ex-advisor! Romeo, you know that! Everyone knows that!"

Erza agreed, "All the more reason why we can't allow this treacherous snake to run free." She summoned a magic sword in her hand, "Those who defy the kingdom and its people shall regret their decisions with their lives."

"Then I'll watch him!" Romeo said angrily, but with much responsibility. "I mean, with your permission, Carla… I mean, Prime Minister. I'd like to take full responsibility for Cobra and everything he does." He added in a pleading voice, "Please."

Carla stood and thought for a minute, before she sighed. She replied, "Romeo, I'm not really convinced of your priorities…" She thought for another moment, then sighed in defeat, "…but so be it." Carla turned to Cobra and said sternly, "Cobra, I'll let you go this time, but this will be your one and only chance to prove to us you've changed your evil ways." She turned to Romeo, "And Romeo, from this day forth, you must watch Cobra's every movement…" She added in a dangerous voice, "…or else."

Romeo sweated nervously, "Or else what?"

"Perhaps some of your acquaintances from your adventures as a… if you pardon my language… a 'street rat'… should explain," Carla motioned to Panther Lily and his squadron, who grinned maliciously.

"Did you hear that? If the snake makes one slipup, you'll be the one I pluck, boy!" Lily threatened, making Romeo gulp.

"You should've thought earlier before you brought that monster into the palace," Erza glared at Romeo. "You may the hero of Magnolia and have earned the trust of the Prime Minister and all of Fairy Tail, but now we realize that trust can be misplaced. You, Mr. Conbolt, are the charlatan of this scenario, touting your wares as a 'hero', leading a hungry predator to prey upon the souls of innocent people." Erza motioned to her angry guildmates, before she turned her back and left, "Good day to you, sir!"

"Romeo?" Macao sternly asked his son, crossing his arms.

"Yes, Dad?" Romeo asked worriedly.

"You're grounded for the rest of the night," Macao reminded Romeo.

Romeo scratched the back of his head, blushing, "Yes, Dad."

With a demeaning 'Hmph,' Carla turned her head from Romeo and stormed out of the dining hall with the guards and the Fairy Tail wizards following her. Alzack and Bisca were the last to leave, but not before dragging their daughter Asuka along.

"C'mon, Asuka! We're going home!" Alzack said angrily, forcibly pulling Asuka's hand.

"Ouch! Daddy! Stop pulling!" Asuka cried, and the Connell family is already out of the dining hall.

As everyone left, Romeo breathed a sigh of relief, not noticing Wendy was leaning against a pillar with a stern look on her face.

"Wow, Wendy, I thought I was sunk," Romeo smiled slightly.

Happy stated by pointing a paw, "You might wanna reconsider that. Somebody in this room's still angry."

"Romeo! You were hiding Cobra all along, weren't you?" Wendy asked him angrily.

"Wendy, look, I'm sorry. I should've told you, but I didn't know what to say, and..." Romeo was not sure of anything else to let out.

"You… You promised… No more secrets… No more lies… I… I…" Losing the strength to say another word, Wendy threw a slap on Romeo's face with tears streaming down her cheeks. "How could you…?" With all the strength in her voice, she screamed, " **I trusted you! You lied to me!** **I thought you changed!** "

Romeo protested, "No! Wait! Wendy! You don't understand! Back in the marketplace, Cobra…"

But Wendy had already gone out of the room. Romeo sank down into a chair and sighed sadly, "Some royal vizier I'm turning out to be. Everybody's mad at me. Even Carla. Even Asuka's parents. Even Fairy Tail. Even my dad."

"Aw, don't worry, Romeo," Natsu smiled comfortingly. "Wendy's just a little steamed." His head turned into a teapot and he lifted it off his body and poured some tea into a cup. "She'll cool down. Care for a cup?" Natsu offered a cup to a disturbed Romeo. "This isn't cheering you up, is it?" He offered the cup to Happy, who took it and drank it.

"I don't get it, Natsu," Romeo worried. "Sometimes when I try to do something good, it just blows up in my face."

Natsu placed a hand on Romeo's shoulder and explained, "That's the problem with doing the right thing; sometimes you do it by yourself."

* * *

Over by the window, Cobra was thinking over what happened.

"That kid saved my life," Cobra said. "Nobody's ever looked out for me before. And now, it's like I owe him." He thought for a moment, before he shrugged, "Nah!"

"Just let your conscience be your guide," Natsu said, impersonating and acting like Jiminy Cricket, as he landed on the window ledge.

"Conscience? What conscience?" Cobra frowned. "Never had one, never will." He jumped out the window and walked away, grumbling under his breath, until Natsu appeared in front of him as a Jack-in-the-Box, laughing like a maniac, completely terrifying Cobra and causing him to fall over. He snapped, "What are you trying to do? Give me a heart attack?"

Natsu reappeared beside Cobra in a doctor's attire and said, "A-ha! So you do have a heart!" He held up an X-Ray in front of Cobra's body, revealing a small heart where it ought to be. "An itty-bitty one, but it's there." He took Cobra's arms and teleported him into another part of the courtyard.

"Can you quit with the hocus-pocus already?" Cobra asked in annoyance.

"Oh, look at him," Natsu gestured over to Romeo sitting by the pond, holding his legs and his face buried in his knees. "Would it kill you to do something nice for him?"

Cobra shook his head, "Possibly, I don't do 'nice.'"

Natsu pouted, "Oh, come on! It'll be fun!"

Cobra protested, "And I don't do fun, either!"

"We have to get Romeo and the princess back together!" Natsu suggested, duplicating into many Natsus and then back into one.

"Look, I don't do romance," Cobra argued. "It's not in my character."

Natsu smiled, "I know. But it's gonna be tricky."

Upon hearing that, Cobra's eyes widened in excitement. "Tricky is good." He grinned evilly as he added, rubbing his hands, "And tricky, I can do."


	7. Forget About Love

In her room in the palace, Wendy cried burying her face in a pillow, until she heard a voice that she really didn't want to hear.

"Oh, come on now, Princess," Cobra said emerging from the curtains. "You don't have to waste those tears on him."

"You!" Wendy cried. "Go away! Leave me alone!" She angrily shut the curtains.

"You see? That is your problem," Cobra reasoned. "You're blaming the wrong guy. I mean, Romeo's the real one to blame. I should've known better than to save his life."

With a gasp, Wendy stopped short upon hearing that and opened the curtains to let Cobra in. She asked, "Wait… You saved his life?"

"Bingo!" Cobra answered. "The kid owed me one, and that's why I stood up for him the way he did."

"But he didn't have to lie to me about it," Wendy muttered.

"You are _so_ right," Cobra sneered, much to Wendy's disgust as he began to sing.

Cobra: **_Forget about that guy  
Forget about the way you fell into his eyes  
Forget about his charms_**

He held up a picture of Romeo, only for Wendy to take it and lay it flat on the dresser.

 ** _Forget about the way he held you in his arms  
Walking on air's obnoxious_**  
 ** _The thrills, the chills, will make you nauseous  
And you'll never get enough!_**  
 ** _Just forget about love!_**

Wendy grabbed a pillow and threw it at Cobra, who jumped out of the way and slid out onto the balcony. He whispered to Natsu, "She's buying it! Now make with the magic!"

Cobra: **_Forget about romance  
Forget about the way your heart begins to dance_**

Natsu snuck in and used his magic to tip over a vase with two calla lilies, but Wendy caught the lilies and smelled them. As she did, Romeo's reflection appeared in the mirror, courtesy of Natsu, and Wendy could've sworn she heard Romeo say, " _Wendy._ "

 ** _Then you feel the blush  
When he's spouting out some sentimental mush_**

Cobra unexpectedly snatched the flowers from Wendy and vanished from the room, leading Wendy to the balcony. Once she was out, she looked down to see a mourning Romeo by the pond. Her heart was broken upon seeing that.

 ** _Love really is revolting!  
It's even worse than when you're molting  
Enough of this fluff!_**  
 ** _Just forget about love!_**

Then Wendy began to sing.

Wendy: **_I had almost forgotten the way it felt  
When he held out his hand for mine  
My heart all a-flutter_**

Cobra: **_Oh, how I shudder_**

Wendy: **_The first time we kissed_**

Cobra: **_It won't be missed_**  
 ** _Forget about his touch_**

Wendy: **_I can't forget about his touch_**

Cobra: **_In the scheme of things it doesn't matter much_**

Wendy: **_It matters so mu-uch_**

Wendy went back into the palace, followed by Cobra.

Cobra: **_You're better on your own  
A meal becomes a banquet when you eat alone_**

Wendy went downstairs, but stopped in front of a mirror to freshen up.

Wendy: **_Hmm-mm-mm-mm…_**

Wendy and Cobra: **_Love's filled with compromises_**

Cobra: **_And don't you hate those big surprises?_**

As Wendy made it outside, Happy lifted her up with his wings.

Wendy: **_A cozy rendezvous_**

Cobra: **_Oh, please…_**

Natsu sent yellow balls of light forming around Wendy, causing her crown to glow.

Wendy: **_Candlelight for two_**

Cobra: **_Oh, jeez!_**

Wendy: **_Look, you're calling my bluff_**

Wendy and Cobra: **_I can't (Just) forget about love_**

The balls of light flew over to Romeo, getting his attention towards Wendy approaching him.

"Wendy… I… I…" Romeo admitted with a sigh. "I'm sorry. I really am. I know I shouldn't have kept Cobra a secret from you. I really should have told you—"

Wendy gently shushed him by placing a finger on his lips. She smiled softly, "Romeo, you don't have to."

Wendy: **_I can't forget about my heart_**

Romeo: **_I can't forget about my heart_**

Wendy: **_And how it felt  
To fall for you right from the start_**

Romeo: **_I'm still falling_**

Wendy: **_Whatever we may do_**

Wendy splashed Romeo with water, and Romeo went after her like they were playing hide and seek.

Romeo: **_Whatever we may do_**

Wendy: **_You are here for me,  
And I'll be there for you_**

They both began to dance.

Romeo: **_I'll be there_**

Both: **_To wish, to want, to wander  
To find the sun through rain and thunder_**

Meanwhile, Cobra looked very annoyed as his head was stuck under a fountain with water pouring on him, soaking his clothes, while Natsu and Happy watched this romantic moment with smiles.

Romeo: **_A cozy rendezvous_**

Wendy: **_Yes, please_**

Romeo: **_Candlelight for two_**

Cobra: **_Oh, geez!  
Enough is enough!_**

Romeo and Wendy: **_We can't forget about love_**

* * *

Elsewhere, as the guards were patrolling the palace, Totomaru climbed up a wall using a rope to descend to the other side until he reached the ground. "That did it. We're in," he said.

As Totomaru rubbed the lamp, green smoke poured out and Brain appeared in his human form, stretching his bones.

"It's about time," Brain said coarsely. "It was getting hot." Just then, his attention turned to Cobra standing with Romeo and the others. A sly smirk appeared in his face, "How intriguing. Cobra has lost no time befriending my adversaries… which will make the perfect cog in the machine of my plan."

* * *

Back with Romeo and his friends, Wendy gave Cobra a hug around his tall body, much to his embarrassment. She smiled, "Thank you, Cobra. For once, you've actually done something good for me, and for Romeo."

"I'm really, really, super-duper sorry," Romeo apologized, but Wendy shushed him again and hugged him.

"I told you, you don't have to apologize!" Wendy giggled. "Why would I ever be mad at someone I love? I would never do that to you."

Romeo chuckled with a blush, "Thanks, Wendy. You know, the first time you were mad at me, it's before we took a trip around the world in a magic carpet."

Wendy cried teasingly, "Romeo!"

Both laughed playfully as Natsu and Happy smiled dreamily.

Happy remarked, "They looooove each other."

Natsu added, "The kind of love which can't be broken."

"Well, sometimes love can be fixed if it's broken in the first place, and it's just the two of us," Romeo shrugged. "If you know what I mean."

"No worries," Natsu grinned. "Check, roger, over and out!"

Before Romeo and Wendy kissed, the moment was interrupted when bright lights flashed and Natsu and Happy were filming them.

"Rolling!" Happy called. "Today's special is couples getting back together again. Lookin' great, Wendy. Let's see Romeo keep that chin up, okay?"

Cobra interrupted the filming by standing in front of the camera. He yelled, " **WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO TO MAKE IT CLEAR TO YOU LUNKHEADS?!** " He pushed Natsu and Happy away, " **THE SHOW'S OVER! THEY WANT TO BE ALONE! BREAK IT UP! BREAK IT UP!** "

"Okay, okay, we get the hint," Natsu shrugged.

"Romeo, are you sure about him?" Wendy asked Romeo worriedly. "Has Cobra really changed?"

"Move it, furball!" Cobra shouted to Happy. "Go on, shoo!"

"I'm going! I'm going!" Happy said in annoyance. "Jeez, what's a guy to do to create the mood for the love moment?"

"At least he helped get us alone," Romeo chuckled.

Wendy smiled slyly, "Alone at last."

With that, the two kissed each other deeply, accidentally falling into the pond when losing their balance. Despite their clothes being wet, Romeo and Wendy didn't care as they kept on kissing. When the long kiss broke, they silently looked at each other with Romeo sitting down and wrapping his arms around Wendy's body, their clothes soaked, their hair drooped, and their faces trailing with water. Without each of them saying a word, Romeo slowly untangled the red attachments on her ponytails with his hands, letting down her long dark blue hair, while Wendy gently caressed her hand around Romeo's cheek.

"I love you, Romeo," Wendy whispered softly.

"I love you too, Wendy," Romeo whispered back.

The two kissed a second time. It was definitely another romantic moment between two young lovers indeed.

* * *

In one of the rooms, Cobra was leisurely lying down on a giant pillow, surrounded by fruits. He took a deep breath and sighed contently.

"This is the life…" Cobra smiled. "Being one of the good guys sure has its advantages. I have to admit, it suits me better than living under the Oración Seis! Just picture this: advisors to Romeo Conbolt, the new grand vizier. And when Romeo becomes king, that'll make ME the grand vizier! Only I'm not gonna blow it like that idiot, Brain." Chuckling, he took a batch of grapes and bit them all off the twigs, "Thank goodness I'll never have to stand in his shadow again!"

Suddenly, the room went dark and lights flickered on, revealing Cobra standing in a spotlight. He turned and freaked out when he saw Brain emerging from the shadows, and his face was mixed with shock and fear.

" **AAGH! BRAIN!** " Cobra screamed with all his lungs. "Um, h-h-h-h-h… H-Hey, boss man… I-I-I mean… old buddy? Long time no see."

Brain said nothing, but blasted two candles with his eyes, making the room brighter. And right behind him was Totomaru holding the lamp. The only thing Cobra could think of doing at the moment was to back away and try to make up an excuse.

"You know, lots of funny things happened," Cobra sweated. "I know you're upset that I dropped you into that well. Believe me, I had no idea what I was doing. Then those guys showed up, making me an offer I can't refuse, and…"

Cobra hid behind a pillar, but jumped as Brain's face appeared on it. He said, "Calm yourself, Cobra." Cobra nervously backed away from the pillar, only to back up right into the real Brain. "I'm not here to hold a grudge against you."

"That's good to hear," Cobra sighed with relief.

Meanwhile, Totomaru had just thought of something and said, "Wait, I got it! I could wish for mastery of all four of the Elements! Fire, Water, Earth, and Air under my command!"

Brain, hearing that and thinking Totomaru was going to betray him by using his third wish already, snapped his fingers and the next thing Totomaru knew, he was trapped in a chest. It jumped around a bit, as Totomaru yelled in a muffled voice, "Hey, let me out! Let me out!" Brain made it disappear and Totomaru took a deep breath.

"Oh, I am dreadfully sorry," Brain apologized, even though one could tell he wasn't. "I thought that was your wish. Are you quite all right?"

"No," Totomaru said in annoyance. "I am not quite…"

"Wonderful," Brain cuts him off. "Good to see all is well." He turned to Cobra, "As you can plainly see, Totomaru is my new ally. He was kind enough to set me free. And I couldn't help but notice that you've made some new friends too, one quite possibly by the name of Romeo Conbolt."

He disappeared in a puff of smoke. Cobra squeaked, "Friend? Friend is such a strong word. He's more of an acquaintance."

Brain reappeared and smiled smugly, "Is that so, Cobra? Then you won't object if I arrange a little… _surprise_ for him, and your job is to lead him to the party."

Cobra said nervously, "You know, I don't think I'm the guy cut out for this sort of thing. No offense, Brain, we've been friends for a long time, Oración Seis through and through. But I'm a different guy now. You should talk to someone else. Like, um… Oh, I know! The cowgirl! Yeah, the cowgirl! The bratty cowgirl! She's really got Romeo's ear!"

"No, Cobra," Brain shook his head and pointed at him. " **You.** "


	8. Sowing Seeds of Distrust

The next morning, Cobra was in another room, pacing back and forth, trying to find the right words to tell Romeo, "Uh, you know, Romeo… uh, kid… I was just thinking…"

Natsu's voice could be heard from another different room, so Cobra went to see if Romeo was with them. But it was just Natsu playing pool against Happy, and Asuka, Lucy, Gray, and Erza were observing. Right now, Natsu was taking his own sweet time focusing on the ball, much to everyone's irritation.

"Focus, focus, focus…" Natsu kept saying, not taking his eyes off the pool ball.

Finally, Gray couldn't take it anymore and yelled, "Alright, already! Get it over with, Pyro! We're not getting any younger!"

Natsu frowned, "Why don't you shut up and be patient, Ice Man? These things take time and lots of concentration. Alright, here I go." He gets ready to hit the ball, "Aim… and SHOOT!"

When Natsu shot the ball, it shot off the table and straight towards Lucy and Asuka. "Duck!" Lucy cried, and everybody quickly did just that. The ball headed right towards a surprised Cobra and got stuck in his mouth, the impact causing him to fly backwards until Natsu flew up behind him and caught him.

"Whoops," Natsu chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry about that, Snake Eyes. I'll get it out." He tried to get the ball out of Cobra's mouth to no avail. "It's stuck good. Look like we're gonna do a treatment of cueball-ectomy." Then, Natsu transformed himself into a doctor's attire. "Nurse!" He turned Asuka, Lucy, and Gray into nurse's outfits.

Asuka cheered, "Wow! We're playing doctor today! It's my favorite game!"

Lucy smiled, "Erza, don't you think I look cute?"

"Well, I also happen to have an outfit of my own," Erza replied, and she used her Reequip ability to transform her armor into her own nurse's outfit.

Gray, on the other hand, was shocked at being dressed like a nurse and threw his hat away in frustration. He ranted, "Oh, no, uh-uh, no way! I'm not helping that dirty snake! Not in a million years! And… why do you have to dress ME up like a girl?!"

Natsu explained, "First of all, Cobra's our friend now. He's an ex-lackey of Brain, so we can trust him. And second, I thought that dress looks good on you!"

Gray growled, "Say that again, Hothead!"

Natsu shot back, "You heard me! It looks good on you!" And the two engaged into yet again another argument.

Erza snapped, "Break it up, you two! Cobra is in a serious condition, and he must be treated well!"

Lucy agreed, "I'd hate to agree, but Erza's right. Nobody in Fairy Tail is supposed to leave someone in need of help."

"So, whaddya say?" Natsu asked. "Care to trim the scales off Cobra's fingernails?"

Gray thought it over for a moment, before he sighed. He replied, "Well… okay. But I don't like it. And I don't like the way you dress me either."

Natsu glared, "Just shut up and help him."

" **Ice-Make: Hammer!** " Gray summoned a flying hammer of solid ice by the formation of his hands which tackled Cobra in the chest, causing him to spit out the ball.

"Brilliant extraction, Dr. Natsu," Lucy remarked.

"Don't thank me," Natsu smiled. "Thank Popsicle here!"

"Gee, thanks, Professor Flame-Lips," Gray replied sarcastically. He saw the ball bounce off the wall and about to hit Cobra again, but Happy caught it.

"Cueball in the cat's corner pocket!" Happy cheered.

"Nice catch, Happy," Natsu remarked.

Cobra thanked, "Thanks, Grey."

"It's Gray, with an 'a'," Gray corrected.

Cobra nodded, "I'll try to remember that."

"That's the spirit," Natsu grinned, pulling everyone into a hug. "We're all one big happy family now! I love Fairy Tail, the strongest wizards in Magnolia, I love my little brother Romeo, and I love my little buddy Happy! I thought things would never change."

Gray muttered, "One of these days, I'm gonna show you how much I 'love you' when I give you a three-round demonstration."

Natsu snickered, "I'd like to see you try. You and me, tonight, at the fountain while everybody's sleeping!"

Gray smirked, "You're on!"

"Is there a problem, boys?" Erza asked suspiciously.

"No, nothing," Natsu and Gray both replied with nervous smiles.

Asuka smiled, "You heard what Natsu said, Mr. Cobra. We're one big family. Me, you, Romeo, Wendy, and everyone else."

"Uh, sure. Right," Cobra played along. "Happy family." He got out of the hug, "If you'll excuse me, I have to find Romeo."

"Check, please!" Natsu said, reappearing back into his sports attire. "So, who's next?"

"My turn," Happy raised a paw, and he hits the ball with his pool stick. Every ball, except for the cue ball, went into every hole. "I win!" Happy cried. "I'm undefeated pool champion! Do I get fish for that?"

"Eh, pool's not my game anyway," Natsu shrugged, dropping his pool stick.

* * *

As Cobra wandered the hallway, he wandered past a room where Romeo and Wendy were talking.

"I know he used to be a member of the Oración Seis, but I really know we can trust him. I can feel it in my belly," Romeo said.

"Me too," Wendy nodded. "Last night, when I touched Cobra's skin, I sensed something troubling him deep inside. It's like he wanted to be someone else. Like he doesn't want to be an Oración Seis member anymore."

"Whoa. Are you some kind of mind reader?" Romeo asked curiously. "Or are you a living x-ray or telescope?"

"I just feel it," Wendy replied. "When my hand touched Cobra, I can hear a little bit of his thoughts whisper into my heart. If he really deserves another chance, he just might."

The two noticed Cobra tiptoeing by.

"Hey, Cobra," Romeo greeted with a smile. "What's up?"

"Oh, hi, guys," Cobra greeted nervously. "You know, I was thinking, maybe it's time we patch things up with the kitty-cat Prime Minster."

"Carla?" Romeo and Wendy asked together.

"Yeah," Cobra nodded. "Maybe she might enjoy a nice, scenic stroll in the Worthwood Sea?"

"That sounds like a good idea!" Wendy smiled delightfully, clapping her hands.

Romeo offered, "I'll bring Natsu and the others. Natsu's a big hit with Carla!"

" **NO!** " Cobra interrupted with a strong yell, but calmed down, "Uh, I mean… I mean… Natsu… He's… he's… he's too flashy. He's too loud. You'll never get a word in."

"You've got a point," Wendy agreed. "You need some quiet time with Carla. If you let her get to know you, she might warm up to you."

"My thoughts exactly," Cobra nodded.

"Great! Come on, let's get Carla," Wendy cheered, dragging Romeo by the arm, but stopped. "Give me a minute."

Wendy walked over to Cobra and cleared her throat, "Cobra, it wasn't easy for me to say this, but… I was wrong about you. I thought you were still the backstabbing jerk Brain has ever had, but after what you did for Romeo…" She giggled with a blush, "…I'm glad I was wrong." She proceeded to hug Cobra, who groaned, and walked off with Romeo.

Cobra's guilt got the best of him and he interrupted, "Uh, hey, wait a second!"

"Yeah?" Romeo asked.

Whatever Cobra was about to say, he never said. He was staring in horror at the pair of dark eyes that were glaring daggers at them above Romeo and Wendy.

"Never mind," Cobra brushed off. "I'll be along in a minute."

Romeo and Wendy walked out of the room, as if nothing happened here, and Cobra looked down on the floor in guilt, knowing he had done something wrong. Brain appeared behind him and placed his hand on Cobra's shoulder, saying sinisterly, "Excellent."

 **Out in the courtyard…**

Romeo and Happy were standing beside Cobra and Cubellios, waiting for Wendy and Carla coming down the stairs to meet them.

"Cobra's not so bad once you get used to him, Carla," Wendy told Carla. "Why don't you give him a chance?"

"Well…" Carla admitted. "I suppose I couldn't refuse the insistence of a young lady. I'll try to get to know him if I must, child." Upon noticing Cubellios, she said, "I say, this your pet snake, I take it?"

Cobra nodded, "Yeah. She's Cubellios. She has wings and can fly, just like you Exceeds."

"And he looks large enough to ride as well," Carla said intrigued. "Much like the large elephant I rode in the throne room. May I give your friend a test run?"

Cobra simply rolled his eyes, "Sure, why not? If you fall off, use your wings." He shrugged, "I still have the nightmare when that elephant almost crushed me."

"Can I hold your hand on your way to the big snake's back, pretty lady?" Happy asked Carla with a grin. "I'm going with Romeo, so that means I'll be your bodyguard for the day."

"No thank you, tomcat," Carla rejected. "I can do just fine—"

Before Carla could finish her sentence, Cubellios, feeling like having some fun, playfully bounced Carla on her back. "Oh, my!" Carla exclaimed gleefully as Cubellios stretched her wings and flew around a bit, before the large winged snake flew back.

Romeo grinned, "Hey, she sounds fun to ride, too. Maybe Cubellios can be cool as the Flying Dragneel! Let's hop in!"

Happy nodded, "Aye!"

Cobra groaned, "Oh, boy. Cubellios has a lot of passengers today."

As Romeo, Happy, and Cobra joined Carla in Cubellios's back, the snake took off and flew upward into the sky, whilst the ones riding Cubellios cheered and screamed with joy, except for Cobra.

"Bye, Carla! Bye, Romeo!" Wendy called out, waving goodbye. "Have fun!"

"Hey! Make way, coming through! Make way for the picnic fairies!"

Wendy turned to see Natsu, Asuka, Lucy, Gray, and Erza running down the small stairway, carrying picnic gear and wearing vacation clothes.

Asuka asked, "Where's Romeo and Cobra?"

"They've gone already," Wendy answered.

"Without us?" Natsu, Asuka, and the Fairy Tail wizards exclaimed in unison.

Asuka pouted, "Aw! We don't want Romeo to miss out all the fun! Our picnic's got Mommy's special recipe hotdogs!"

Erza added, "Not to mention, the best strawberry cakes around. I'm sure Romeo would like to taste one."

Natsu smiled, "No problem, guys. I'll catch up to him in a jiffy!"

Natsu was getting ready to fly off, but Wendy stopped him and interjected, "Wait! Without me, too! Romeo and Cobra needs some time alone with Carla to patch things up."

"Okay, then," Natsu nodded. "I understand. Do you know what this means, then?"

"I getcha," Gray said with a smirk.

" **MORE FOOD FOR US!** " Natsu, Asuka, Lucy, and Gray shouted joyfully, whipping out a blanket and began chowing and scarfing down their food, freaking out Wendy. Erza, on the other hand, was eating the food in a polite manner.

"I'm sorry for the trouble, Your Highness," Erza apologized. "For some wizards in Fairy Tail, this is their habit of eating food. Would you care to join us?"

Wendy giggled with a blush, "Uh… no thanks. You guys go ahead." Just then, her stomach began to rumble, making her feel a little hungry. "Then again, I'm feeling a little hungry."

Asuka beamed with hope, "So this means you're joining our picnic?"

Lucy cheered, "Yeah! Come on, Princess, it'll be fun! Come and join us!"

Erza added, "Maybe you would like a taste of our strawberry cakes as well?"

Wendy replied with a joyful smile, "Yeah! I'd love to!" And with that, she joined Natsu and the others to enjoy their marvelous picnic.

 **Meanwhile…**

Romeo, Happy, Carla, and Cobra were flying around on Cubellios over the Worthwood Sea, a large area brimming with endless forests.

"Come on, Cobra!" Carla smiled. "Since I'm being nice to you today, you should show me what this snake can really do!"

Cobra hesitated, "No, I don't think this is such a good idea. We should just—"

Before Cobra could finish, Cubellios slid down into a lagoon, making Cobra shout, " **WHOA!** " Cubellios flew while touching the water with her tail, causing some to splash onto the four passengers, making them laugh playfully, except for Cobra. They approached a waterfall and Cubellios flew back into the air.

"That's the spot," Cobra noted. "On top of the waterfall!" Then Cubellios dove down and Cobra turned green as a result of the intense speed, even though that was a little redundant. " **I THINK I'M GONNA LOSE MY LUNCH!** "

"You're lucky you haven't lost more than that!" Carla retorted.

Cubellios was heading for land, but instead of a smooth landing, she crash landed, sending the four flying off of her. When they landed, Romeo looked around and saw Carla and Happy stuck on a tree laughing. Happy placed a paw around Carla's shoulder, but when Carla stopped laughing, she brushed it off, saying, "Get your dirty paw off me, tomcat! It's rude!"

Still, there was no sign of Cobra. It wasn't long until Happy and Carla flew down from the tree with their wings that they and Romeo discovered Cobra flatted against the tree.

"Cubellios…" Cobra groaned. "Never… again…" Cubellios just hissed.

Romeo said with an impressed smile, "I gotta hand it to ya, Snake Man… It's a very neat place for a nice, scenic stroll."


	9. You're Only Second Rate

Back at the palace courtyard, Natsu, Asuka, Lucy, Gray, and Erza had cleared nearly half of the food, with Wendy absent from the picnic.

"Ah, it doesn't get any better than this, eh, guys?" Natsu asked his friends.

Lucy replied with a cheery smile, "It sure is, Natsu. Where's Princess Wendy?"

Natsu explained, "Wendy's gone back into the palace. She doesn't want to miss the schedule of her favorite TV show tonight. It's called _Pickled_ _Plum Pals._ "

Lucy nodded, "Oh, I see. No wonder she has a big heart for pickled plums so much!"

Asuka burped, "I'm stuffed! I couldn't eat another bite!"

"Since Asuka's full, how about a nice drumstick for three fairies to pass the time?" Natsu said, pulling three drumsticks out of his scaly scarf and handing them to Lucy, Gray, and Erza.

Erza smiled, "Don't mind if I do."

Lucy eagerly took a bite out of hers, and commented, "Hmm, pretty good, but it could use a little more herbs and spices, though."

As Gray was about to take a bite out of his own drumstick, he saw a spider on top of it. He yelped and threw it to the ground with a gag, "What the…?"

"What's going on?" Erza wondered.

Soon, the group becomes more alarmed as they noticed swarms of spiders heading towards them.

Lucy and Asuka screamed in horror, " **SPIDERS!** "

Lucy freaked out, "Get 'em off! Get 'em off! Get 'em off! I don't want those creepy crawlies to get me!"

Asuka squealed, hugging Lucy's stomach, "Squish 'em! Squish 'em! Squish 'em! Please! Please! Please! Please! Pleeeeease!"

Natsu poofed into an exterminator's outfit and said, "Stand back, ladies! Things could get ugly!" He sprayed the spiders with gas, but it didn't affect them. In fact, Natsu and the others watched as the spiders piled on top of each other until they formed an outline of a peculiar person, before they faded into…

"Brain!" They all gasped.

"It's that creepy Brain guy!" Asuka exclaimed worriedly.

"How could he be still alive?!" Gray demanded angrily.

"We all thought that if Brain was gone, the Oración Seis was gone with him!" Erza added.

Lucy cried, "The leader of the Oración Seis is back! And he's here to destroy us all… again!"

"Ah, the members of the Strongest Team of Fairy Tail: Lucy Heartfilia, Erza Scarlet, Gray Fullbuster… and of course, two of Romeo Conbolt's little friends, the ex-genie and the little brat in the hat. So nice of me to pay you a visit," Brain smirked, bowing sarcastically. "Sorry to spoil your picnic, boys and girls, but I cannot have you five or anyone else mucking about ruining my plans." He turned to Erza, "And you, Erza, my dear… It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"It certainly has," Erza replied, glaring daggers at the evil genie.

"You know this guy?" Natsu looked at Erza incredulously. "Like, for a long time?"

"Brain was the one who imprisoned me and my childhood friends at the Tower of Heaven," Erza explained. "He forced us children into slave labor to building that monstrosity, desecrated the dead, brainwashed Jellal into being his evil servant, and killed Simon!"

Natsu asked, "How did you escape that Tower of Heaven?"

Erza answered, "It was a very long and hard struggle… Me and my friends Shô, Wally, and Millianna vowed to rescue Jellal. We took a stand for our freedom. Simon was gone, but we managed to save Jellal and free him from his brainwashing. Despite our victory and our freedom, Brain managed to escape. When I joined Fairy Tail, I personally swore that I will hunt down Brain and end his evil ambitions."

Brain chuckled, "Just like old times, isn't it, Erza? We last met months ago before I captured you and your entire guild."

"I know," Erza nodded angrily. "And I far as I'm concerned, you're nothing more but a cold, cruel, heartless man!"

"Life is cruel, isn't it?" Brain laughed amusingly, angering Erza even further.

Lucy shuddered, "We're dead. So, very, very dead."

With a confident chuckle, Natsu assured, "Not today, we're not! He's a genie now."

Lucy stated sarcastically, "Yeah, sure! A genie with phenomenal cosmic powers!"

Asuka added, "Itty-bitty living space!"

Lucy exclaimed, "This is not the time for jokes! We're still in serious trouble!"

"You haven't heard of a genie's quid pro quos?" Natsu reminded. "Genies can't kill anyone."

Brain merely smirked and held out his hands, which turned into dragonheads and blasted Natsu into smoke.

Lucy yelled, "Natsu!"

Natsu coughed and wheezed, "But you'd be surprised what you can live through."

Brain laughed, "For a former genie, you were always good for a laugh!"

" **OH, YEAH?!** " Natsu retorted, and he jumped up with a hand pulsing with powerful magic. "Here's a message from this former genie. **CHOKE ON IT!** " He immediately sent a magic punch that sent Brain flying to a wall. He turned to the others and said, "Stand back, guys. I'll take care of Brain. A genie can handle a genie."

Erza nodded, "Very well! We'll warn the rest of the guild while you hold him off!" With that, she, Lucy, and Gray retreated out of the palace courtyard.

Asuka, on the other hand, elected to stay behind to witness the epic rivalry between Natsu and Brain, considering she is much closer to Natsu than the Fairy Tail wizards were. She said, "I'm staying here to watch you fight, Natsu! It's the battle of the century: Two genies fighting each other!"

Natsu smiled, "The front seat's yours, cowgirl! And you don't need a ticket! Ladies and gentlemen... **IT'S** **SHOWTIME!** " Flickering his hands in many directions, Natsu blasted Brain with a series of multiple magical blasts. From what they could see, it appeared to have affected Brain, for when the smoke from the blasts cleared, all that was left was a big hole in the ground. Natsu panted from all the energy he had exhausted, but is nonetheless satisfied.

Asuka cheered excitedly, " **YAY, NATSU! NATSU WINS! HE ALWAYS WINS!** "

Natsu changed into a superhero's attire and laughed proudly, "Who's laughing now, Senor Psychopath?"

However, that victory was short lived when Brain's maniacal laughter is heard, and he reappeared in a puff of smoke with a smirk, much to Natsu and Asuka's shock and dismay.

"Why, I believe it's me," Brain answered. As the two nervously backed away, Brain begins to sing.

Brain: **_I must admit  
_** _ **Your parlor tricks are amusing**_

He changed Natsu into a magician's attire. Natsu struggled to take off his hat, which was currently stuck on his head.

 ** _I bet you've got a bunny under your hat_**

Brain appeared above Natsu and took his hat off, and a giant rabbit fell out and dropped on top of Natsu.

 ** _Now, here's your chance_** ** _t_** _ **o get the best of me**_ ** _  
_** _ **Hope your hand is hot!**_

Two cards flew out of the hat and Brain picked them up, revealing Natsu on the Joker card and Asuka on the Queen card.

 ** _C'mon, clown  
_** _ **Let's see what you've got!**_

Natsu bursts out of the card and tried blasting Brain again with his magic, but it didn't affect him.

 ** _You can try to slam me with your hardest stuff  
_** _ **But your double whammy isn't up to snuff**_ ** _  
_** _ **I'll set the record straight**_ ** _  
You're simply out of date  
_** _ **You're only second rate!**_

Brain pulled Natsu by his scarf and they flew down to a lower platform. Natsu had turned into an old man.

 ** _You think your cat's a meanie, but your tiger's tame_**

Natsu turned into a tiger and tried to attack Brain, but Brain made him jump through a ring and he came out on the other side as a kitten. He appeared on top of a stool where Brain was showing him a mathematical formula on a chalkboard.

 ** _You've got a lot to learn about the genie game  
_** _ **So for your education, I'll reiterate**_ ** _  
You're only second rate!_**

Brain placed a dunce hat over Cat Natsu and took it off to reveal Asuka on the stool, before they fell down and landed on a giant hand where the fingers were dressed up as Brain finger puppets.

 ** _Men cower  
At the power in my pinkie_**

The pinky moved towards them, making Natsu and Asuka nervously back away until they looked behind them and gasped to see Brain's thumb colored green and designed like Genie Brain.

 ** _My thumb is number one on every list_**

The thumb morphed into the real Genie Brain.

 ** _But if you're not convinced_** ** _t_** _ **hat I'm invincible,**_ ** _  
_** _ **Put me to the test!**_ ** _  
I'd love to lay this rivalry to rest!_**

Brain stuck his hands in the ground and ripped up some dirt, creating graveyard pits and Natsu and Asuka fell in them, with tombstones rising out of the dirt. But Natsu poofed themselves out of it and he began blasting Brain again.

 ** _Go ahead and zap me with the big surprise  
_** _ **Slap me in a trap, cut me down to size**_

Brain was wrapped in chains, placed in a basket, and was struck with sharp swords, but he simply emerged out of it, unharmed.

 ** _I'll make a great escape  
_** _ **It's just a piece of cake**_ ** _  
You're only second rate!_**

A multi-layered birthday cake appeared and Brain popped out of the top candle, the flames on the other candles shooting off like sparks. Natsu and Asuka ran off, until they ran into a Brain Stonehenge.

 ** _You know your hocus-pocus isn't tough enough_**

They fell through the floor and appeared on stairs, going up like an escalator all the way to Genie Brain sitting on a throne, holding a staff.

 ** _And your mumbo-jumbo doesn't measure up_**

They jumped down stair to stair before they reach Brain's throne. Brain tried blasting them with his staff until they landed at the bottom.

 ** _Let me pontificate upon your sorry state  
_** _ **You're only second rate**_

Natsu and Asuka ran around until they ran through a hall of mirrors. A big one appeared in front of them with Brain's reflection in it.

 ** _Zaba-caba-dabra!_**

They ran away from there and saw an old woman facing away from them in a rocking chair. Thinking she could help them, Natsu ran up to her and tapped her on the shoulder, but then the old lady turned around, revealing it was actually Brain, making them all jump backwards.

 ** _Granny's gonna grab ya!_**

They dashed off again with Brain following, growing in size and his voice echoing.

 ** _Alakazam-na-bus!  
This thing's bigger than the both of us!_**

Natsu and Asuka ran down a hall full of Brains.

 ** _So spare me your tremendous scare!  
You look horrendous in your underwear!_**

Brain pulled Natsu's shorts down to reveal he was wearing boxers spelling "I LUV LUCY" on it.

 ** _And I can hardly wait to discombobulate_**

Natsu was then split into pieces that rearranged themselves and landed in a shipping crate.

 ** _I'll send you back and packing in a shipping crate_**

The crate bursts open and Natsu and Asuka were on top of a spinning plate on a stick held by Brain.

 ** _You'll make a better living with a spinning plate  
You're only second rate!_**

Brain then tossed the plate up and it spun around, fading to Natsu spinning around, crammed up in a magical-resistant orb. Asuka went over to see if Natsu was alright.

"Hello?" Asuka knocked on the orb. "Natsu? Are you there?"

But before she had time to react, Asuka was zapped, levitated over, placed, and locked up in a bird cage that fits her size.

Brain sighed contently, "Ah, that was invigorating." He walked over to the door where Totomaru was waiting, "Come, Totomaru. We have other lives to ruin. The second phase of our plan is complete."

Totomaru asked, "But what about the Fairy Tail wizards? They're retreating to their guildhall as we speak, trying to call in reinforcements."

Brain assured, "Not to worry, my friend. They'll be dealt with soon enough."


	10. Surprise Attack on the Worthwood Sea

Back at the Worthwood Sea, Romeo and Carla were skipping rocks across a pond, unaware of what had happened to Natsu and Asuka.

"I'm really sorry about Cobra, Carla," Romeo said as Carla tried skipping a rock, but failed. "I have a hunch that there's something different in him, just like you saw something different in a street rat." Romeo tossed a pebble and it succeeded in skipping across the pond. "Like last night, Fairy Tail was upset that I brought Cobra along at first, but that attitude's been slowly drifting away ever since Cobra decided to fit in."

"Yet he appears to be evil at glance, his new behavior might suggest a shred of good inside him. I wonder…" Carla assumed. "Could I have possibly overlooked something in the snake man that I didn't know was there before?" She then smiled, "Well, child, this is one fine example of helping advice you've demonstrated. A fine quality in a worthy vizier, I assure you."

Romeo smiled back, "Thanks, Carla." He left Carla and went to a glum Cobra, who was sitting on a rock. With a hearty laugh, Romeo slapped a big hand on Cobra's back and said, "Way to go, Snake Eyes! We've finally patched things up between me, you, and Carla! And it's all thanks to you!"

"Oh, don't thank me just yet," Cobra sighed, trying his best to hide his down-cast voice.

Then all of a sudden, a horde of cloaked thieves on black stallions rode around Romeo, Happy, Carla, and Cobra, and started going after them.

"Whoa!" Cobra shouted. "I didn't see OR hear that coming!"

"Me too!" Happy added.

"Carla!" Romeo shouted. He tried to run after her, but was pushed to the ground. When he looked up, he saw a familiar villain riding one of the horses. "Totomaru?!"

"Surprise!" Totomaru shouted. And just on cue, the other horse riders grabbed Carla and rode off, trampling over Romeo, Happy, and Cobra.

Once they recovered, Romeo and Happy gasped, "CARLA!"

" **HELP MEEEEEEEEE!** " Carla cried as she was carried away.

As they were off, Romeo and Happy took a moment to figure out what's going on. And then it struck them. Romeo turned to Cobra with a furious look in his eyes. He grabbed Cobra by the collar of his shirt and roared, " **IT WAS YOU!** **YOU SET US UP FOR THIS!** **YOU TWO-TIMING BACKSTABBER!** "

Happy shouted in agreement with Romeo, "So that's how it's been! You led us into a trap! I always knew you were still a bad guy!"

Cobra chuckled nervously, "Bad guy's such a strong word."

"I never should've stood up for you in the first place, you sick, twisted—" Romeo began as he was almost about to throw a flaming punch in a fit of rage, until Carla screams interrupted him.

" **ROMEO! HELP!** " Carla shrieked, still captured by the cloaked riders. With a snarl, Romeo released his grip on Cobra.

"I'll settle with you later! After I save Carla, you're next!" Romeo warned. He turned to Happy, "Happy, let's go!"

"Aye, sir!" Happy complied, and he lifted Romeo into the sky with his wings, and the two flew after the horse riders.

Romeo and Happy looked into the distance and saw the riders going towards a cliff. Happy noticed, "Look, Romeo! Those guys are heading to a cliff!"

"Good!" Romeo nodded. "They'll be trapped at this rate. When they stop, we'll…" But then he stopped short, "What?!"

The horses jumped off the cliff and sprouted black Pegasus wings, much to Romeo and Happy's surprise.

Happy said incredulously, "They have wings too?!"

Romeo replied, "Who else do you expect to do it besides an Exceed and a big purple bat-snake? Those guys are probably wizards!"

Happy agreed, "You got a point."

Romeo cried, "But no time to lose! We gotta get Carla back! You think you can distract them, Happy?"

"Aye!" Happy said affirmatively. "Watch this!"

With that, Happy flew in circles around the cloaked riders, and amidst the confusion, Romeo grabbed Carla and Happy flew them off.

Happy cheered, "Hooray! We did it!"

Carla cried, "Romeo! You saved me again!"

"Don't worry, Carla! I've got you!" Romeo assured. "You're safe now!"

Carla sighed with relief, "Thank you, Romeo."

"Don't thank me," Romeo shook his head. "Thank Happy. He came up with the plan."

Carla blushed in embarrassment, "Uh, yes. Thank you, tomcat… I mean… Happy."

Happy winked his eye, "No problem, lady!"

"What the?!" Totomaru exclaimed. "They're getting away! Get the Prime Minister!" He ordered the cloaked riders as they flew after them.

"Hang on, guys. This is where we're gonna lose them," Happy noted, as he flew Romeo and Carla back the way they came. They seemed almost out of harm's way at first, until a giant whirlpool rose from the waters and knocked Happy off course, and Carla was pulled into it.

" **NOOOOOOOOOO!** " Carla shrieked. " **ROMEO! HAPPY! HEEEEEEEELP!** "

" **CARLA!** " Romeo shouted. " **HAPPY, PULL UP!** "

" **AYYYEEEEE, SSSSIIIIRRRR!** " Happy screamed, swooping towards the whirlpool. Before Carla can disappear into the whirlpool, Romeo stuck out a hand into it so she can grab it.

Unfortunately, the whirlpool got them first! Romeo and Happy are eventually sucked in, only for Romeo to be spat out of it, leaving Happy to go into the whirlpool alone. Happy's screams were the only voice he can give before he is completely sucked in.

" **WHOOOOAAAAAA!** " Romeo cried, and he fell into the water. He drifted and managed to grab onto a rock, only to be kicked off by Totomaru back into the water. He plummeted down the waterfall, screaming until his voice faded.

"That takes care of that!" Totomaru chuckled. But the celebration was interrupted when one of the cloaked riders stuck out his hand and shot a blast at Romeo, lifting him over the sharp rocks at the bottom. " **WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!** "

Romeo was then levitated over the sharp rocks and landed into the river, drifting downstream. Totomaru and his riders landed on a cliff, and Totomaru hopped off and went over to them, upset.

"Have you lost your mind?! You just saved him!" Totomaru said furiously to the riders, who molded back into Brain. "We were this close to finishing off that miserable…" He was cut off by Brain, who frustratingly grabbed him by the collar.

" **LOOK, YOU LITTLE…** " Brain began, but calmed down and chuckled slightly. He explained, "I mean, my dear Totomaru… If you remember the plan, it is not yet time for Romeo Conbolt to meet his end. I have a much painful way to deal with him."

Totomaru nodded with assurance, "Right. I knew that."

"Soon, our revenge will be complete, and you shall have your third wish!" Brain boosted Totomaru's assurance.

"Finally!" Totomaru cheered. "I'll get my third wish at last!"

"And you, Cobra!" Brain turned to Cobra, practically scaring him in the process. "You have done well." He patted his shoulder as he continued, "You have proven yourself yet again a true member of the Oración Seis, even after the guild's dissolution. But tonight, the Oración Seis will be brought back together. Our reunion with our four other friends is at hand."

"Please, don't mention it," Cobra said miserably, hanging his head.

* * *

As nighttime came, Romeo washed up onshore in some desert, catching his breath.

"Carla! Happy!" Romeo cried, before he remembered the cause of all this, and growled under his breath, "Cobra." After a slow recovery, Romeo began to make his way back to Magnolia.

* * *

Somewhere in the castle dungeon, Carla was chained to the wall with Asuka still trapped in the birdcage and Natsu imprisoned in the magical orb.

"Brain, you fiend!" Carla shouted. "I should've known you were behind this!"

"Oh, but I couldn't have done it without Cobra's help," Brain gestured to a still guilty Cobra, and gave a curtly smile.

Cobra sighed sadly, "I played a minor role, really."

Totomaru, meanwhile, is trying to restrain Happy, attempting to escape with his wings.

Happy shouted, "Hey, you're scratching my fur, jerk-face!"

"Shut up, you mangy cat!" Totomaru demanded, and he turned to Brain, "Brain! This feline won't cooperate!" With that distraction, Happy bit Totomaru by the finger, making him yell in pain and release him, giving Happy an opportunity to fly out the window.

"Go, Happy, go!" Asuka rooted. "Go get help!"

"Aye, sir—" Happy began, but Brain held out a hand and chains appeared, pulling Happy down and chaining him to the ground. He pouted, "Aw, nuts!"

"Enjoy this victory of yours while you still can, Brain!" Carla growled. "Because Fairy Tail will come and stop you!"

In response to that comment, Brain bursts out laughing. He smirked, "How noble of you, Prime Minister Carla. Yet utterly pointless."

With a wave of his hand, Brain summoned a vision portal which shocked Carla, Happy, and Asuka to the core. The vision displays every Fairy Tail wizard— Lucy, Gray, Erza… even Macao— all trapped and chained in the castle dungeon!

"Huh?!" Asuka exclaimed.

"No way!" Happy shouted.

"It can't be!" Carla gasped.

Brain explained, "You see, after I captured the once powerful Genie of the Dragon Scale, I used a magical trap to capture every single Fairy Tail wizard in the guildhall, all at once, before the Strongest Team would ever bring reinforcements, and imprisoned them in the deepest dungeon in the palace. Trapped like mice in a cage. And that is just the beginning!" The image portal disappeared, "It won't be long. The Oración Seis will rise again!"

"Wait… You don't mean…" Carla asked in disbelief.

"That's right!" Brain nodded. "I released Racer, Angel, Hoteye, and Midnight from the dungeon. Therefore, the Six Demons are back together! Magnolia will be ours again. You have already lost, Prime Minister. Now so shall Romeo Conbolt."

"Ha!" Asuka scoffed. "And why is Romeo gonna lose when the odds of losing for him is one in a billion? He'll save the day again! You can't beat Romeo, you meanie! You know you can't!"

Brain smirked, "Oh, we have ample time to prepare for Romeo's arrival. And I have just the thing to do." With the snap of Brain's fingers, he poofed an exact copy of Carla's dress, followed by a dagger. For the finishing touch, he sliced the dress into shreds.

"Is that my dress?" Carla asked incredulously.

"Correct, Prime Minister," Brain nodded. "The final phase of our plan is about to commence. For you see, this copy of your dress and this dagger are the key ingredients we need to seal Romeo Conbolt's doom!"

We now see Romeo crossing the desert, unaware of the cold reception awaiting him once he gets back to Magnolia.


	11. A Noble Decision

Romeo finally made it to the palace and wearily stumbled up the stairs to see Panther Lily waiting for him.

"Lily!" Romeo cried. "Carla's been—"

"Seize him!" Lily yelled, and Byro Cracy, Sugarboy, Mary Hughes, Dan Straight, Coco, and Samuel restrained Romeo. "You are under arrest, Romeo Conbolt, for the murder of Prime Minister Carla!"

"Huh?! Wait, no!" Romeo shouted, but was dragged away.

* * *

Later on, in the dungeon, Romeo had finished explaining his story to Lily.

"And then you went over the waterfall, did you? Ha!" Lily scoffed. "How did you survive?"

"I… I don't know," Romeo answered truthfully.

"How very convenient," Lily said dryly. "But it's not enough to convince us otherwise, boy."

Romeo protested, "Lily, I'm telling the truth! Why don't you believe me?!"

"Because we know you were lying," Coco's voice came from the doorway.

"What?" Romeo turned to see Coco, Mary Hughes, and a bitterly weeping Wendy standing in the door.

"You… murderer…" Wendy growled tremblingly with tears endlessly falling down her cheeks. "You… You killed… Carla… She's… She's my… my… my best friend… You killed her… You killed Carla…" She shook in a mixture of fear and rage in front of Romeo.

"Wendy…" Romeo said worriedly. "What's going on?"

"I'll tell you what's going on," Coco explained sternly. "You killed Carla, who is more than just the Prime Minister. She Princess Wendy's best friend! You killed her, and you've broken her heart!"

"Princess Wendy told us everything. We found this in your room," Mary Hughes showed Carla's tattered dress. "The Prime Minister's dress, slashed. This is undeniable proof that you are the prime suspect!"

"Me?! You think I did that?!" Romeo exclaimed.

"And now look at what you've done to the Princess, you heartless monster!" Coco frowned, gesturing to Wendy to make her point. "We all thought you have won her heart, but now we know that your plan all along is to take over and rule Magnolia!"

Romeo yelled, "No! That's not true! I would never do that!" He turned to Wendy and said softly, "Wendy, you believe me… Don't you?"

Wendy's only reply was a hard slap across Romeo's cheek, and then another, and another, and another, until she can't slap anymore.

" **MURDERER! MURDERER! MURDERER! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOOOOOUUUU!** " Wendy sobbed hysterically, before shutting her tearful eyes tightly, not wanting to see Romeo anymore. Still sobbing, she ran out the door past Coco and Mary Hughes.

"Y-Your Highness!" Coco cried. "Wait for us!" She and Hughes followed Wendy out of the door, leaving Lily with Romeo.

Romeo cried, "No, wait! Wendy, please!" He struggled to escape, but Lily restrained him.

Lily smiled smugly, "Did you hear that, boy? Princess Wendy doesn't want you anymore. You're in my hands now, street rat. Your sentence has already been decided, and it will be carried out at dawn."

Romeo asked confusedly, "What sentence?" He then saw Lily's slight smirk, and all in an instant he understood. His hand went to his neck as the gravity of the situation hits him. "Oh."

* * *

As Wendy walked up some stairs, evading the pursing Coco and Hughes, we see Carla still chained to the wall, Happy still chained to the ground, Asuka still trapped in a birdcage, and…

…Wendy chained to the wall alongside Carla? What's this? Once Totomaru made sure Wendy's chains were tight enough, he back off and we see two Wendys. Count 'em, two Wendys! The unchained Wendy gave a evil smirk in front of the chained Wendy, and then transformed into Brain.

"It is done," Brain confirmed. "You should've seen the look on Romeo's face, when Princess Wendy Marvell sentenced him to death!" He concluded his message with an evil laugh.

Wendy gasped in horror, " **No!** "

"Yes!" Totomaru said. "And then I get my wish?"

"Yes, Totomaru," Brain said reassuringly. "And then you get your wish."

"Cobra!" Wendy yelled at Cobra. "I can't believe you! Romeo gave you another chance, and you had to turn your back on him?! How could you?!"

"Please, leave me alone," Cobra groaned and lied down on his side, facing away from Wendy and the others.

"Hmm, such spirit," Brain cupped Wendy's chin, but she tried to bite his hand. "Perhaps after a few days in chains, you'll be more kindly disposed toward me, especially if you want your little friend Carla to remain healthy! The time has come. The return of the Oración Seis is nigh. All of Magnolia will belong to us, while you…" Chuckling sinisterly, his dark expression festered towards Wendy, "You, my queen, shall weep at my side for all eternity!"

" **NO!** " Wendy screamed frantically, unable to bear the thought of being Brain's slave again. " **NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!** "

Brain laughed amusingly, "That look is priceless! Right about now, your precious Romeo is to be brought to the gallows, whispering your name with his last breath as the noose tightens around his neck. And as for you, Cobra…" Brain turned to Cobra with a smile. "You've betrayed me and allied yourself with my enemies, only to turn on them… as soon as it was in your best interests. That's what I love about you. You're so perfectly predictable. A dark wizard through and through!"

"Thank you," Cobra acknowledged, before his expression saddened further. "Thank you…"

Cobra's guilt continues to consume him, without even noticing that Wendy was quietly observing the scene with her own eyes. Instead of anger, she felt sympathy and pity for Cobra. She can tell that deep inside, Cobra was hurting, in pain, and feeling sad. The emotion of sadness proves that one person had a heart, and you need to have a heart to grieve and cry.

"Oh, Cobra…" Wendy whispered those words with much sadness and regret, though no one seemed to hear her. Not even for Cobra's supersonic ears.

 **The next morning…**

Down in the dungeon, Romeo woke up as Lily slammed the prison door open.

"Dawn," he declared sinisterly.

Lily marches Romeo up the stairs, his arms and legs chained together, with Dan Straight and Byro Cracy following.

 **Back in the secret dungeon…**

Brain morphs into Wendy, wearing peasant clothes. He taunted the real Wendy, "I'll just tell your boyfriend good-bye for you, Princess."

"So help me, when I get my hands on you…" Carla threatened, along with all the others shouting in agreement.

"Oh, I'm so worried," the fake Wendy said in Brain's voice. "Cobra, allow no one to escape from this room. Guard the prisoners well, my loyal friend. Tonight, after Romeo's death, the Six Demons will celebrate in a grand banquet. And we shall be invincible!"

The disguised Wendy departed from the dungeon with echoing maniacal laughter. Once he left, Wendy's eyes glistened with resolve. She is determined to talk Cobra out of his guilt and make him realize the error of his ways, once and for all.

"You're a jerk, Cobra!" Asuka yelled at Cobra. "How could you double-cross Romeo after all he's done for you?"

Happy agreed, "Yeah! You must've inherited a villainous gene from your mom!"

"Hey, do I insult _your_ mother?" Cobra glared at Happy and Asuka, making them shut up.

"Wait!" Wendy interrupted. "I want to talk to Cobra. Give me a minute with him."

Happy exclaimed, "Talk to a dirty traitor like him?! That's crazy!"

Carla shushed Happy, "Let him listen."

Wendy spoke to Cobra, "Cobra, do you really have to follow Brain's orders? Does working for the Oración Seis really make you feel better?"

Cobra snapped at Wendy, "Hey, I did what I had to do. It was all for me. Nothing else. Nothing is worth the dirt on my shoes."

"Not worth the dirt? Is that what this is all about?" Wendy argued. "I thought you're supposed to be our friend, but you had to play both sides just so you can save yourself. You only have to pick one side! Know which side you're on!" She paused to let this sink in, "Know what you really want in life."

"Look at me," Cobra explained sadly. "Before I joined the Oración Seis, I was a slave forced to construct the Tower of Heaven. My entire life, I was put through a living nightmare. I never had freedom. Never had a reason to fight. Never had the right. I'm a slave my whole life… and if I had refused to work, I would be beaten and bruised! Punished without remorse! All hope seemed lost for me… until Brain came. He released me from the tower, saved my life, adopted me, and raised me along with four other handpicked slave kids. That's how the Oración Seis was born. He promised us freedom, and we came to praise him as our savior. We work all day and night for Brain, only for the purpose of grasping the freedom we desire. Our hopes. Our dreams. Our future."

"If you want freedom so much, then why do you have to follow that monster? Does it really make you feel any better?" Wendy asked.

"You asked me the same question a while ago!" Cobra growled, as he almost starting to break down. "Ask yourself... Can you truly blame me for my actions? I was born into this world as a slave, and raised by Brain to be a criminal. And now you're here to catch me. To defeat me, to destroy me. I know people hate me and treat me differently… and always will. I could do nothing but scorn the world around me! But what do you think I've been living FOR? Myself! My life! Nobody else's! Especially a pathetic, bratty, annoying kid like Romeo!"

With a sigh of understanding, Wendy said sympathetically, "I know how you feel, Cobra."

" **NO, YOU DON'T!** " Cobra threw a fist to a nearby wall, creating a crack on impact, much to Asuka, Happy, and Carla's surprise. His voice was filled with rage and anguish, "You don't know anything about me! You don't know how I feel! No one does! You weren't born poor. You've never been hungry. You weren't born a slave. You don't know what's it's like to fight and steal and kill just to survive. People like you always have everything! You can make things and change things, and the whole world loves you!" His rage begins to subside, "You'll never know what it's like to fail hard in your life! Because people like you are BORN free."

"Actually, I do. I do know," Wendy nodded softly. "There are times whenever I see someone hurt in front of me, I feel really bad and thought I wanted to help them. The first time I met Romeo, he was just a lowly street boy, lost without his dad, struggling to survive with Asuka… until he stayed me in the palace when he got the chance. That's when I realized something. Everybody in this world has a small light of hope they can find something that they want. Something worth fighting for. To tell you the truth, Cobra… I felt the same way, too."

"What do you mean?" Cobra asked.

Wendy's voice began to tremble as she continued, "Is there's one thing I want more than anything… It's everyone. Romeo, Carla, Natsu, Grandeeney… and my mother, the Queen. I lost my mother a long time ago… If only I was there to help her back then…" Tears fell from her eyes, "In her last words, she wanted me to find happiness… and people who care for me."

"Queen Grandeeney… Your mom?" Cobra asked curiously. "That was her final wish? She wanted you to be happy and be loved?"

Wendy nodded and sniffled, "Uh-huh."

"How come… you never told me that before?" Cobra asked softly.

"Because…" Wendy confessed, doing her best to hold her tears. "We weren't friends before. I shouldn't have been mean to you before, and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…" She began to sob, "I just… I just… I just wanted to be your friend."

"Oh, child…" Carla said in sympathy for Wendy.

As Wendy continued weeping silently, this heart-to-heart conversation is too much to absorb for the resident snake wizard of the Oración Seis. With his feet stuck on the floor, Cobra was completely puzzled deep inside. He kept thinking and thinking… until his mind was sore. Then he felt something he hadn't before.

An epiphany.

Letting out a hesitant frown, Cobra tried to wipe away the tears from his eyes. However, no matter how much he tried to dry them, his tears would not stop flowing. As if a gravitational pull grabbed hold of him, Cobra went down on his knees in front of Wendy. The last of Cobra's emotional defenses gave way, and he began to sob uncontrollably on Wendy's feet. His crying voice was even louder than Wendy's.

And what happened, then? Well, in Magnolia they say that Cobra's small heart grew three sizes that day (Check out Natsu's X-Ray, and good thing it rhymes!).

"There's no shame you're going to cry," Wendy smiled, having stopped crying despite the tears staining her face. "If you're crying, that means there's still hope for you yet."

"I… I… I…" Cobra continued to sob, pounding his fists on the floor continuously. "All I ever wanted… was to be loved… To care… and be cared for! But more than anything… my only prayer… is to someday hear the voice of my one true friend." He turned to Cubellios, who stood right next to her master. "Cubellios…" As Cobra continued sobbing, he crushed his pet snake in a big emotional hug. The only reply Cubellios can ever give was a simple, yet compassionate hiss. Wendy, Asuka, and Carla smiled contently at this emotional scene. Happy, on the other hand, was confused.

"First, he was mean and bossy, now he's crying?" Happy wondered.

Carla smiled, "Isn't it obvious, Happy? Wendy's words of kindness and understanding showed Cobra the error of his misguided ways. She made him realize that he was but a pawn in Brain's game, that the freedom Brain gave him was false. Not just Cobra, but perhaps the other four. That's what I always love about Wendy. A sweet-hearted, lovable, capable child."

"Does this mean… he's gonna help us out of here?" Asuka beamed with joy.

"We could only hope…" Happy said worriedly.

"Take my napkin," Wendy offered, allowing Cobra to take a white napkin from a pocket in her skirt and blow his nose.

"Thanks," Cobra replied. With that, he turned to the sphere where Natsu is trapped in and pounded it with his magical snake claws multiple times.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Happy shouted.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Cobra snapped. "I'm trying to free the chump genie so he can save Wendy's chump boyfriend!"

He then utilized various Poison Dragon Slayer techniques to smash it, but it didn't work. Wendy, Asuka, Happy, and Carla cheered with joy, glad to see that Cobra returned to the good side, this time for good.

Carla cried happily, "I'm so proud of you, Wendy!"

Asuka smiled, "The snake man is back!"

Happy cried, "Aye, sir!"

Wendy prayed, "C'mon, Cobra, you can do it… Let him out of here… Romeo needs you…"

* * *

Samuel was putting the finishing touches on the gallows, and Lily donned an execution mask. As he pulled the lever, that was the start of the trap. One trapdoor opened. One dummy tied around the neck fell through. And then, the dummy stopped with the rope pulling taut and hanged there, making Romeo gulp nervously, knowing he's next. Dan and Byro led the helpless Romeo out into the courtyard with Lily following behind, where the real gallows await.

* * *

In the dungeon, Cobra continued trying to break Natsu's orb with his magic to no avail.

"It's a magic-resistant orb!" Carla pointed out. "You have to lift it higher!"

"That's my cue!" Cobra replied. "Go, Cubellios!"

* * *

In the courtyard, the guards tightened the noose around Romeo's neck. Lily was ready to pull the lever, until…

"Wait…" Wendy's voice called out.

"Wendy!" Romeo cried happily, as Wendy made her way to him. "Thank goodness! I knew you wouldn't go through with this."

"Actually, I just wanted to say good-bye…" Wendy told him before her face turned into Brain's, " _Street rat,_ " he snarled quickly before his face transformed back into Wendy's.

" **BRAIN!** " Romeo screamed. " **IT'S BRA—** "

But that was all he got out before the guards covered his head with a brown bag. They prepare for the execution as the fake Wendy made her escape.

Back in the dungeon, Cubellios stretched her bat-like wings, lifted Natsu's orb up into the air, and threw it down to the floor with all her might. CRASH! The orb broke into pieces and Natsu zipped out of the room in lightning speed and sliced the rope before the lever was pulled! When Romeo fell through, Natsu caught him in his arms.

Romeo removed the brown bag from his head and sighed with relief, "Thanks for saving me, Natsu."

"Oh, c'mon, little bro. You know I had to," Natsu smiled, making Romeo chuckle with a blush. "That rope around your neck just isn't your style, and it just isn't good news for your dad." He flew Romeo to another part of the palace and continued, "And now for my next trick…" In the dungeon, Wendy and Carla disappeared, " **Bibbidy!** " And Asuka and Happy disappeared, " **Bobbidy!** **BOO!** " In a flash, everyone appeared on top of a palace turret. "And everybody's safe and sound. Well, almost everyone. Fairy Tail's still in there."

"Wendy!" Romeo shouted happily, took her in his arms and hugged her.

"Romeo!" Wendy cried. "I thought I'd never see you again! You're the greatest!"

"It's okay," Romeo chuckled. "I'm safe, and you're safe. We're even." He turned to Asuka and Happy, "Hey, guys! Back in business, are we?"

Asuka winked with a thumbs up, "You got it, partner!"

Happy flew up and raised a paw cheerfully, "Aye!"

"Okay, now that Wendy, Asuka, Happy, and Carla's safe and sound, thanks to Natsu, can somebody give me a full heads-up on what the heck's going on here?" Romeo asked.

"Super-duper bad news!" Happy explained. "Brain is back, he's captured all of Fairy Tail in the deepest dungeon in the palace, and all four Oración Seis members broke outta jail!"

"The Six Demons are reunited, all right, but here's today's newsflash," Cobra emerged from behind Wendy. "The Oración Seis is now reduced to Oración Cinco."

" **YOU!** " Romeo yelled angrily at Cobra, and his hands began pulsing with Fire Dragon Slayer Magic. "You got a lot of nerve, showing your face around here! A face that's about to be broken! Let's see if we can get blood from a snake!"

Cobra shouted angrily, "Hey, listen to me, kid! I saved your friends' lives!"

But Romeo wasn't buying it. " **I'LL BREAK YOU, YOU HEAR ME?!** " He roared, and he was about to punch Cobra until Wendy broke up the fight before it started.

Wendy protested, "Stop! You don't understand!"

"Why should I?!" Romeo spat. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't blast that traitor viper to pieces once and for all!"

Wendy explained with a loud voice, "Because he saved our lives! He rescued us!"

Romeo stopped, then looked at Wendy with a dumbfounded look and sputtered, "He? Rescued? You? Why didn't he say so?"

"I DID say so!" Cobra yelled.

Happy blushed, "Well… he didn't have to…"

"…but he did," Asuka added.

"Now, if you all don't mind, I say we ditch the place while the getting's good!" Cobra suggested.

"Not so fast," Romeo interjected. "Brain can have Magnolia, for like, a hundred times, but that doesn't mean we're going down without a fight. We're going back in there and bring the fight to the green freak."

"But how can we do that?" Wendy asked. "He's too powerful."

Happy agreed, "Aye! It's bad enough that green freak wasn't a genie before!"

"There's gotta be a way to stop him!" Asuka suggested.

"Actually, there is," Natsu stated, and he raised a finger to make a point. "Brain is a Genie of the Lamp, and all of his magic, his life force, and his will, is bound to that lamp. Every genie has the same weakness. If you take out that lamp, you take out Brain."

"Thanks for the tip, bro," Romeo grinned. "He'll be a pushover, but we've got a chance to win."

"Reality check," Cobra reminded. "Brain's LARGE and in CHARGE!"

"Cobra is right," Carla agreed. "There's no telling what Brain and the Oración Seis… Well, at least what's left of them… will do to Magnolia. Responsibility hangs on our shoulders."

"All the more responsibility enough to bite back. Let's go, guys," Romeo told his friends. They began to leave, but Cobra stopped them. "Cobra?"

"I'm coming with you," Cobra said, making Romeo and the others look surprised. "I admit what I did to you and your friends was wrong, but at least I got something to make up for it. I've got a score to settle with Brain. This time, I'm going to show him who the REAL bad guy is."

"But…" Romeo began.

"Oh, we don't mind," Carla smiled. "Cobra defected from the Oración Seis, and I'm confident that he'll come up with some battle strategies to tear up the Dark Guild from the inside."

"Yeah!" Wendy agreed. "I'll help too. We're behind you all the way!"

"Count me in as well!" Asuka added.

"Me too!" Happy added.

Cobra placed his hands in his pockets and blushed, grumbling to himself, "I hope I don't get another venom cookie for this."

"Well, the more the merrier!" Romeo cheered. "Welcome to the team, Cobra! Put 'er there!" He extended a hand for Cobra to shake, but Cobra ignored it with a groan. "Oh." He then focused on the current situation at hand, "First, we gotta free Fairy Tail. They're trapped in the deepest dungeon in the palace, right?"

"Leave the dungeon to me," Cobra suggested. "And my supersonic ears are picking up Racer, Angel, Hoteye, and Midnight guarding all the hostages there. I'll give each of them a piece of my mind, before I give another piece of my mind to Brain! I'll be way ahead of you, kid. C'mon, Cubellios!" He gave a whistle and boarded the back of his winged pet snake, but before they fly off, Cobra added, "Oh, and by the way… I don't want you to call me 'Cobra' anymore."

Romeo asked, "Why not?"

"The name 'Cobra' was only a codename," Cobra explained. "My real name… is Erik."

"Oh, okay… Good luck… Erik."

"No luck needed." With that, the former Oración Seis member rode off with Cubellios into the palace.

"Hey, Natsu? Is it me, or is it that something's different about Snake Eyes over there?" Romeo wondered.

"Are you kidding me? **HE'S RIDING A SNAKE WITH WINGS!** " Natsu yelled.

Romeo shrugged at that comment, before he smirked, "C'mon, guys! We've got a genie in a bottle to catch!"

Natsu, Wendy, Happy, Asuka, and Carla shouted in approval, " **YEAH!** "

It's time for the final battle to begin.


	12. Brain's Last Stand

We now see Brain sitting on the palace throne, laughing evilly as Totomaru stood nearby holding the lamp.

"Now that my revenge is complete, there is one little matter left to resolve," Brain said.

"Yes!" Totomaru yelled excitedly. "The wish!"

"Indeed," Brain smiled, confusing Totomaru, before he growled with his eyes glowing a bright green and the scene turned dark green, " **YOU WILL NOW WISH ME FREE OF THIS WRETECHED LAMP!** "

"No!" Totomaru shouted, and he snatched the lamp from Brain, the scene and his eyes returning to normal. "It's my wish! You got what you wanted, now it's my turn!"

"But you don't need to waste your third wish," Brain grinned, putting an assuring hand on Totomaru's shoulder. "You wanted to be the Guild Master of Phantom Lord? The title is yours!"

Brain summoned a mist that surrounded Totomaru and replaced his samurai clothing with the same clothing Jose Porla wore. He then conjured up hundreds of Phantom Lord wizards into the throne room, including Boze and Sue, and they all bowed down in respect to their new guild master.

"All hail the new Guild Master of Phantom Lord!" Boze declared.

"Hip, hip, hooray!" all the Phantom Lord wizards cheered. "Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray!"

"I'm the Guild Master of Phantom Lord!" Totomaru squealed. "This is the greatest day of my life! In your face, Jose!" He pointed a finger at a hapless Jose, and his triumphant laughter made him cry bitterly. "But it's not enough! I want gold, diamonds, riches, a sunken ship... Anything to provide for my guild!"

Not wanting to argue, Brain conjured up the remains of a sunken treasure ship into the throne room with all the treasure and gold inside it. Totomaru and the Phantom Lord wizards began to laugh like maniacs and ran around the whole ship, rolling in the gold. As Totomaru, Sol, and Aria passed the front of the ship, an ornament of a mermaid came to life and tried to reach for the lamp without the Phantom Lord wizards noticing. The mermaid snapped her fingers and poofed away, revealing it was Natsu, who gave Romeo a sign, letting him know he couldn't get the lamp.

"Can we have more?" Totomaru asked eagerly.

"MORE! MORE! MORE! MORE! MORE!" the Phantom Lord wizards chanted.

Brain rolled his eyes and sighed, and with the snap of his fingers, he made appear a ruby on a pedestal nearby.

"Ooh, I always wanted one of those," Sue laughed gleefully and walked to the gem to hold it.

"MORE! MORE!" Boze shouted.

To pleasure everyone in the throne room, but really trying his patience, Brain poofed more treasure chests into the room. As he did that, Natsu stretched his arm across the room, avoiding any dropping treasures, until he reached the lamp. Just as he was about to grab it, a small golden statue landed on his hand and Natsu almost screamed in pain, had not Asuka and Happy quickly covered his mouth to stifle the scream.

"Oh, dear…" Carla whispered as she watched from behind the pillar. A treasure chest was about to fall on top of Carla, but Wendy pulled her out of the way in time.

"Now, if that is excessively satisfying enough for you and your guild…" Brain said impatiently to Totomaru, snapping him out of his frenzy. "Perhaps you'd care to grant my freedom."

"What? Your freedom? Oh, yeah. Right. Wish for your freedom. Right," Totomaru complied as he headed back to the throne, unaware of Asuka and Happy trying to grab the lamp, but the two quickly hid behind the throne when Totomaru approached and held the lamp over his head, preparing for his final wish. "I wish for Brain to be…" He began, and everyone thought it was all over. They all thought they were doomed… until a thought occurred to Totomaru. He suspiciously turned to Brain, "Wait a minute… how can I be sure that these things won't disappear once I set you free?"

Brain was on the verge of losing his temper. He snarled at Totomaru, getting into his face and pressing him against the throne, "The more pressing question is: **HOW WILL YOU STAY ALIVE IF YOU DON'T?!** "

"I thought you said genies can't kill anyone," Totomaru said nervously. "You said that."

"You'd be surprised what you can live through," Brain sneered. A loud noise was heard, and Brain turned with a shocked look, "What?!"

Totomaru noticed Asuka and Happy clinging to the lamp and yelled, "HEY!"

"Romeo!" Asuka and Happy called out, holding the lamp out to Romeo.

"I'll take that!" Romeo grabbed the lamp and helped Asuka and Happy.

"My lamp!" Totomaru shouted.

An immediate game of tug-of-war ensued over Brain's lamp, until Brain roared in frustration, " **THE STREET RAT, STILL ALIVE?! NOOOOOOOO!** "

He blasted Romeo, Asuka, and Happy with a fireball, and Totomaru got caught in the line of fire, sending all four flying out onto the balcony. They noticed the floor was crumbling and soon it collapsed. The four were falling to the ground, but Natsu changed into a giant armchair and caught Romeo in the seat and Asuka and Happy on the armrest.

"Nice catch, Natsu," Romeo said as Carla flew Wendy down to the ground. "Where's the lamp?"

"Up there!" Asuka yelled, pointing up to a tree.

The lamp was stuck from a tree branch and Totomaru was stuck from another branch, dangling by his outfit. As he tried to grab the lamp, Totomaru accidentally knocked it off the branch and it fell to the ground.

"Let's go get it!" Romeo cried, and he and his friends dashed towards the lamp. But suddenly, the earth shook and the ground opened up, as Brain in his Genie Form rose up from the ground, scaring everyone. Brain lets out a mighty evil laugh, blowing everyone away and causing them to land further away from his lamp.

"Suffering sardines!" Happy exclaimed.

"He's huuuuuuuge!" Asuka noted.

"The lamp!" Wendy cried. She attempted to sneak towards it, only for Brain to notice her.

" ** _Not so fast!_** " Brain shouted. Wendy jumped out of the way, barely avoiding the blast Brain shot at her.

"Give it up, Brain!" Romeo yelled from behind him. "Your band's breaking up, and we're obviously too much for you to handle!"

" ** _You!_** " Brain glared at Romeo. " ** _You're a fool to challenge me! I am all-powerful!_** "

"Some all-powerful," Romeo smirked. "If you're the so-called leader of the 'mighty' Oración Seis, I feel really sorry for you. You can't even get rid of a crummy street rat!"

" ** _A problem I will put an end to RIGHT NOW!_** " Brain yelled, grabbing Romeo.

"Romeo!" Wendy screamed.

As Brain squeezed Romeo tighter and tighter, Romeo turned salmon, before he turned into Natsu, who had actually been impersonating Romeo this whole time.

" ** _WHAT?!_** " Brain growled.

"Gotcha," Natsu smirked, before Brain noticed the real Romeo heading for the lamp with Happy flying him. "Go, Romeo!"

With a snarl, Brain threw Natsu away and he landed on the ground unconscious. Wendy cried, "Natsu!"

"We're almost there, Happy!" Romeo shouted.

"Aye, sir!" Happy cried.

In response, Brain formed two glowing fireballs linked together in his hands and threw them like a hammer, hitting Happy and causing him to freeze solid, unable to move.

"Happy, no!" Romeo cried as Happy skidded along the ground and Romeo followed suit, inches away from the lamp.

"Romeo!" Wendy screamed.

Romeo quickly recovered and tried to reach the lamp, but suddenly a rocky pillar sprouted out of the ground and lifted Romeo into the air. The rest of the ground opened up, revealing molten lava beneath.

Wendy, Carla, and Asuka were stuck on a single piece of land. They tried to revive Natsu, as Wendy cried, "Natsu, come on!"

"Wake up! Wake up!" Asuka screamed.

"Romeo needs your help!" Carla added.

Soon enough, one part of the palace fell into the pit of lava, while Romeo tried to reach for the lamp, but missed. As the pillar floated around, Romeo tried each time to grab the lamp, but failed as Brain blasted the pillar. Romeo tried to hold on, but knew he couldn't last much longer.

" ** _Give it up, boy!_** " Brain declared as he tried to blast Romeo with eye lasers, but missed. " ** _You shall never have my lamp, and there is no one to save you this time!_** "

"Hey, Brain!"

Brain turned to see Cubellios flying Cobra right towards him as he screamed, " **SHUT UP!** " He jumped from Cubellios's back and threw a **Poison Dragon's Iron Fist** at Brain's face and landed on a piece of land. He added with a smirk, "Can you hear the words rolling out of my mouth now?"

"Cobra…" Romeo whispered in shock.

" ** _Cobra?!_** " Brain demanded. " ** _What sort of treachery is this?!_** "

"My name is Erik," the snake wizard corrected. "Cobra is no more. And I've brought some friends along too!"

Brain was completely shocked to the core at what he saw. Behind Cobra were the four members of the Oración Seis: Racer, Angel, Hoteye, and Midnight, glaring viciously at Brain, alongside all of the Fairy Tail wizards!

" ** _Y-You…_** " Brain exclaimed. " ** _You released them from the dungeon?!_** "

"I didn't do it alone, actually," Cobra shrugged. "In fact, those four helped me break Fairy Tail outta jail!"

Brain scoffed, " ** _Outrageous! Midnight, put them back in the dungeon! NOW!_** "

Midnight replied with a glare, "We don't take orders from you anymore, Father! Or should I call you Brain now? And that codename no longer has any meaning to me. I only answer to my true name, Macbeth."

Racer added, "And my name's Sawyer. Get that through your thick skull in ten seconds, sucka!"

"My name is Sorano Aguria," Angel stated. "But you can call me Angel, too. I'm the definition of angel and beauty!"

"And I'm not 'Divine Eyes' Hoteye anymore!" Hoteye added. "I'm Richard Buchanan! _Oh yeah!_ "

Brain was more enraged than ever. How could five of his greatest minions turn against him?

"We originally came up with the plan to release Romeo Conbolt and Fairy Tail so we can turn them against you," Midnight stated. "But seeing as you are now an all-powerful genie, we were forced to stay low… until Cobra came and bolstered our spirits."

"We didn't fight at all," Racer pointed out. "In fact, we were just happy to see him again! As fast as lightning in the rain!"

Hoteye cheered, "Reuniting with your friends is a joy to behold! _Oh yeah!_ "

"You were wondering why we're rebelling against you?" Midnight asked. "Our paths began in a dark tower. We believed you saved us, gave us freedom. But over the years of serving the Oración Seis, we realized that what you gave us was a _false_ freedom. Torn from our loving families and friends, cursing the world for no apparent reasons, we were nothing more than pawns meant to serve you. It was _your_ freedom we children have fought for, not _ours_. Now…" He paused to let this sink in, "…finally, true freedom lies before us."

Angel added, "The day you were trapped in that lamp, we four members were thrown into the dungeon… but we served our sentence willingly as atonement for the crimes we committed under you." She then shrugged, "I could never forget the damp, disgusting cell I was thrown at. It ruins my lovely hair." She continued, "Regularly, during visiting hours, my sister Yukino and Richard's brother Wally would often pay a visit and give us souvenirs from the marketplace. The Make-Up-Kit 3000's my personal favorite!"

"My time in prison taught me that money can't solve life's problems," Hoteye grinned. "All you need is love! _Oh yeah!_ "

"You hear that, Boss Man?" Cobra smirked proudly. "The Six Demons are now down to One Demon! You're done, Brain, you hear me? You're done. Oh, and do you want to know something else? Perhaps Macbeth can tell you."

Midnight answered, "I had a friendly conversation with Romeo's father Macao. And I told him that you're a **cold, cruel, heartless, pompous, egoist, bad-tempered, awful excuse of a father I ever had!** I've been meaning to say that ever since you adopted me!"

Macao emerged from the crowd and agreed with Midnight, "That's right! A real father shouldn't mistreat his own children, or frame another father's son for a terrible crime he didn't commit! Bit of a dirty life for a dad, really!" All of the Fairy Tail wizards and the five former Oración Seis members chattered and shouted in agreement.

Brain's frustration had ultimately reached its peak. His eyes were full of hatred and wrath. In a fit of rage, Brain screamed at the top of his lungs and released a pulse of powerful energy upon himself in a gust of wind.

" ** _TRAITORS!_** " Brain roared. " ** _IS THIS WHAT'S BECOME OF THE GREAT SIX DEMONS?! I SAVED YOU FROM CERTAIN DEATH, I GAVE YOU FREEDOM AND POWER BEYOND ANYTHING YOU HAD HOPED FOR, AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME?! YOU BETRAYED ME?!_** "

"You better believe it!" Midnight nodded with a grin. "We have been your prisoners for too long. But now… **WE WILL BE FREE!** " With that, he, Angel, Racer, Hoteye, and the Fairy Tail wizards charged at the evil genie with a mighty battle cry, and they all prepared to attack with their magic. (Cue the Fairy Tail theme!)

Midnight: **Reflector Magic: Spiral Pain!**

Angel: **Open, Gate of the Chisel! Caelum!**

Hoteye: **Earth Magic: Liquid Ground!**

Racer: **Dead Grand Prix!**

Erza: **Heaven's Wheel: Scattering Petals!**

Gray: **Ice-Make: Arrows!**

Lucy: **Open, Gate of the Lion! Leo!**

Leo: **Regulus Impact!**

Macao: **Purple Rain!**

Juvia Locksar: **Water Nebula!**

Levy McGarden: **Solid Script: Fire!**

Mirajane Strauss: **Satan Soul: Evil Explosion!**

Laxus Dreyar: **Lightning Dragon's Raging Bolt!**

Freed Justine: **Dark Écriture: Slice!**

Bickslow: **Baryon Formation!**

Evergreen: **Fairy Machine Gun: Leprechaun!**

The combined magical attacks of the Fairy Tail wizards and the ex-Oración Seis members collided with Brain's colossal body. But no matter how strong the attacks are, he is able to endure the attacks because he's a genie. During the brawl, Cobra slipped through without Brain noticing, grabbed the lamp, and fled.

With a loud roar, Brain released a powerful burst of energy from his body, blowing everyone and all of their magical attacks away. He yelled, " ** _Enough of this madness!_** **_If you all must die, so be it!_** " He then noticed Cobra and blasted him with a powerful **Dark Capriccio** spell to the chest. He crashed into a piece of land and skidded across the ground, grievously injured and covered in black soot with the lamp a few feet away from him.

"NO!" Everyone yelled. "ERIK!"

Cobra tried to kick the lamp into the lava, but passed out.

Brain laughed evilly, " ** _Even with my allies turned against me, I am still victorious in the end!_** _ **Good help is so hard to find these days, isn't it, Romeo?**_ "

Just then, a white streak of light swiped the lamp and it vanished into thin air. Unexpectedly, the lamp appeared in the hands of Kagura Mikazuchi, who stared at the evil genie with a dangerous glare.

" ** _Huh?_** " Brain raised an eyebrow.

"My name is Kagura Mikazuchi," Kagura introduced herself. "You killed my brother, Simon. And now you must die!" Gripping her katana Archenemy, she threw the lamp up in the air and prepared to swing. Brain stared in shock, realizing what Kagura is about to do.

" ** _MY LAMP!_** " Brain screamed horrifyingly, as Kagura unscathed Archenemy and sliced the lamp into tiny pieces. " ** _NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_** "

"Cobra!" Romeo yelled as the piece of land Cobra was on starts to crumble, but he quickly grabbed hold of Cobra's body. Natsu, having regained consciousness, quickly stretched himself out to higher land and Wendy, Asuka, and Carla ran up his bridge-like body. Romeo kept holding onto Cobra and began climbing up the wall to safety.

Brain screamed in intensifying pain, as he was electrocuted with lightning crackling on him, revealing his skeletal body. " ** _No… How… How can I be defeated… AGAIN… BY A PACK OF FILTHY STREET RAAAAAAATTTTS?!_** "

Having escaped with Cobra out of the cracked-up ground just in time, Romeo looked up to Brain with a dangerous glare, "Don't mess with street rats!"

Brain screamed one last time as a bright light flashed and his skeleton could no longer be seen. He froze and spun around like a tornado, exploding in a burst of magic and dissolving into green dust, the remains of his lamp melting away into the lava before the ground closed up completely. In a flash of light, the sky cleared up, shining on Happy's frozen body and thawing it, and he came back to life and flew over to the others with a cheerful "Aye!"

Kagura sheathed Archenemy and knelt down in silent prayer, "Simon, your death has been avenged. You may now rest in peace."

Romeo shouted excitedly, " **WE DID IT! WE WON!** "

" **ALRIGHT! WE BEAT BRAIN!** " Everyone was cheering and elated that they had defeated Brain, this time for good. The former leader of the Oración Seis has been vanquished at last! Romeo happily did some outrageous handshakes with Natsu and Happy, and playfully shook the hair on Asuka's head, making her giggle.

"Man, that was close," Romeo sighed with relief. "It was worth it anyway, now that Brain's gone for good."

Natsu agreed, "The green freak went boom! And it's amazing to see Cobra's not the only one who changed their evil ways. First Cobra, now Midnight, Angel, Racer, and Hoteye? Those four plotting against their boss the whole time? It's crazy, I tell ya!"

Romeo nodded, "Yep! Pretty crazy, bro!"

"Um… speaking of Cobra…" Happy interjected, and he pointed a paw to the unconscious Cobra's lifeless body sprawling on the ground. Eventually, everyone's smiles faded upon seeing him. Wendy slowly knelt down and cradled Cobra's body in her arms with tears streaming down her face.

"Oh, Erik…" Wendy sniffled.

"No…" Midnight whispered in disbelief.

"Macbeth…" Racer spoke to Midnight. "I don't think he's gonna—"

"It can't be…" Angel said with tears in her eyes. "Erik… he's…"

Midnight, Racer, Angel, and Hoteye began to cry, while the others looked on sadly and confusedly. Even Romeo himself looked puzzled.

"I don't get it," Romeo scratched his head. "With all that Poison Dragon Slayer Magic, Cobra… I mean, Erik… Erik's a tough cookie. I thought genies can't kill anyone."

Suddenly, Cobra coughed and opened his eyes. He shrugged, "You'd be surprised what you can live through."

"ERIK!" Midnight, Racer, Angel, and Hoteye yelled happily.

Romeo cheered, "Erik, you're alive!" To Cobra's surprise, he, Wendy, Happy, and Asuka hugged him, with Racer, Angel, Hoteye, and Midnight joining afterwards. The Fairy Tail wizards cheered happily and danced around.

"You got us worried, man!" Racer cried. "You almost missed the finish line!"

Cobra chuckled, "Hey, I'm glad to see you four, too. Sawyer, Sorano, Richard, Macbeth… But you're hugging me too tightly!"

Hoteye blushed, "Oops, our bad. Hope we didn't pay for this. _Oh yeah!_ "

" **HE'S ALIVE! HE'S ALIIIIVVVEEEE!** " Natsu yelled and laughed excitedly, as he spat firework rockets from his mouth which ignited into the sky. The whole sky is illuminated with light and color as the heroes began to celebrate.


	13. Another Happy Ending

Nighttime came and everyone was gathered in the throne room, as Cobra… well, er… Erik… leisurely lay down on a bunch of pillows and said, "And so the former Five Demons lived happily ever after, with me wallowing in luxury as Romeo's palace pal."

"I'm opening a spa in Akane Resort," Sorano (Angel) said, with her arm around her sister Yukino. "And Yukino will be my business partner. Together, we'll make anyone and everyone who comes by as beautiful and handsome as can be! All the boys and girls will love our customers and their amazing new looks." She concluded with a chuckle.

Yukino smiled warmly at Sorano, "It's good to have you back, Big Sis."

"Thanks," Sorano smiled back.

"Wally and Richard's Ice Cream Shop is now open for business! _Oh yeah!_ " Richard (Hoteye) cheered, with his arm around his brother Wally.

"Yeah! Coz sellin' ice cream is dandy!" Wally agreed.

"I'm getting a job as an undefeated racing champion in the F1 Grand Prix!" Sawyer (Racer) grinned. "I'm showing the world who's faster on wheels instead of feet."

"And I'm going to be a musician," Macbeth (Midnight) added. "I always wanted to be a rockstar, and have a cool name, like The Sandman."

"As an added bonus, Fairy Tail was kind enough to return me to my human form," said a petite violet-haired girl wearing a dress with white and green laces with an additional green bow on its chest. "To tell you the truth, I was actually a human transformed into a giant winged-snake by a dark wizard." She added with a laugh, "I'm glad I'm not a pet snake named Cubellios anymore! Oh, and for those who don't know my real name, it's Kinana."

Erik sighed, "I expected Cubellios to speak the voice of a real human, but at least hearing your voice for the first time's good enough for me."

Kinana smiled, "Thank you, Erik. Now I can do something human for the first time in years. I'm gonna take a waitress job at 8-Island Restaurant!"

Carla chuckled and said, "How ironic… After the way you've mistreated us, you five have saved us all in the end. We were all wrong about the Oración Seis. And because of your heroic actions, we are forever grateful to you." She bowed down in respect to Erik, Sorano, Richard, Sawyer, and Macbeth, and announced, "As Prime Minister of Magnolia, on behalf of her late Royal Majesty, Queen Grandeeney, I hereby decree from this day forth, I pardon all crimes of which Erik, Sorano Aguria, Richard Buchanan, Sawyer, and Macbeth stand accused, and will have it be known that as long as they live, they will always be welcome to our kingdom and our society as one of our own!"

Macbeth tearfully smiled, "Thank you, Prime Minister. That means a lot to us. Now I can finally sleep in peace."

With that, everyone in the palace cheered and applauded the five, with some Fairy Tail wizards, old friends, and relatives giving them big group hugs. Erik, Sorano, Richard, Sawyer, and Macbeth are now free to live the rest of their lives in peace, never to serve the whims of a cruel, twisted sorcerer named Brain ever again.

"A most gratifying day indeed," Carla acknowledged. "And now, Romeo, my dear boy… Or should I say my new vizier?"

"Go ahead and say it," Natsu suggested.

Romeo chuckled and smiled, "Prime Minister, I…"

"There's no need to be formal at this time," Carla assured. "Just call me Carla."

Romeo continued, "Carla, I'm really honored and all, but…"

Upon hearing that, Erik screamed, " **BUT?!** " He ran over to Romeo, knocking off Gray in the process, " **BUT IS SUCH A STRONG WORD!** "

"Why, you!" Gray snarled. He attempted to use his Ice-Maker Magic, only to be held back by Erza.

"I can't be your vizier," Romeo answered.

" **Huh?** " Everyone said.

" **WHAT?!** " Erik yelled. He turned to Carla, "Carla, baby. The kid's talking crazy! Don't listen!"

Happy raised a paw, "Erik, I think he means it."

Asuka added, "For a good reason."

" **THEN WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?!** " Erik screamed in Romeo's face.

"The world," Romeo replied simply.

Erik paused in disbelief, then pulled Romeo back, "Look, personally, I'm with you, kid. But let's take it one step at a time. I mean, c'mon, work with me here!"

Natsu, rolling his eyes, grabbed Erik and poofed duct tape onto his mouth to shut him up. Erik removed it anyway.

"What I meant to say is, I want to see the world," Romeo clarified, looking out on the balcony. "I can't just stay here and get cooped up in the palace all day. There's so much I wanna do, so much I wanna see."

"Wait, what about your girl?" Erik frowned, unaware of Grandeeney waking up and glaring at him in annoyance. "You think this lovely princess is gonna wait around here?" But then he yelped as he was pinned down by Grandeeney, who was either being playful or just plain annoyed by him.

"Me, get cooped up here all day?" Wendy giggled. "Of course not!"

"There, you see?" Erik said, trying to get out from under Grandeeney's paw.

"I'm going to see the world, too!" Wendy smiled, taking Romeo's hand in hers.

"Well, knock this ex-genie in. I'm in for an adventure," Natsu grinned.

"Me too!" Asuka smiled. She turned to Alzack and Bisca, "Mommy, Daddy, can I go with Romeo?"

Bisca smiled back, "Why not, sweetie?"

Alzack added, "You're Romeo's friend, after all. And all that training we put you through finally paid off."

"Aye!" Happy joined in with Romeo, Wendy, Natsu, and Asuka. "I want to see the world with Romeo!"

"Suppose you got room for your old man in your world adventure?" Macao grinned.

"I'm in!" Lucy elected. "A new adventure means a new amount of money to pay rent!"

"Same here," Gray smirked. "Without an adventure every day, life can get boring."

"You got me interested," Erza smiled. "I'll be a part of your adventure."

Romeo cried happily, "Why not? A lot of friends means a lot of adventure and a lot of places to explore!" His friends cheered in agreement and caught Romeo in a big group hug, each of them motivated by the desire to explore the world together. The others who watched this scene were touched and very happy… Well, almost.

"Alright, that's it!" Erik ranted, getting out from under Grandeeney's paw and pacing about. "This is crazy talk! Crazy talk! Why do I keep getting hooked up with these _warped_ people?" We pan away from the palace as Erik can be heard saying, "Shouldn't somebody ask **WHAT THE BRAVE SNAKE MAN WANTS TO DO?** "

Kinana's playfully laughing voice can be heard, "Erik!"

* * *

Down in the courtyard, we see Totomaru still dangling from a branch, looking disappointed.

"Does this mean I don't get my third wish?" he asked, before the branch he was dangling from broke and he fell onto the ground. Once he recovered, he looked up to see the palace guards surrounding him. "Oh, poop."

 **THE END**


	14. Credits and Ending Song

**Main Cast**

 _Mariya Ise/Lindsay Seidel as Romeo Conbolt  
Satomi Satō/Brittney Karbowski as Wendy Marvell  
Tetsuya Kakihara/Todd Haberkorn as Natsu Dragneel  
Satomi Arai/Kristin Sutton as Asuka Connell  
Rie Kugimiya/Tia Ballard as Happy  
Yui Horie/Jad Saxton as Carla  
Masaki Kawanabe/Brian Mathis as Macao Conbolt  
Aya Hirano/Cherami Leigh as Lucy Heartfilia  
Yuichi Nakamura/Newton Pittman as Gray Fullbuster  
Sayaka Ohara/Colleen Clinkenbeard as Erza Scarlet  
Tetsu Inada/Philip Weber as Brain  
Atsushi Imaruoka/Jarrod Greene as Cobra (Erik)  
Daisuke Endō/Justin Cook as Totomaru_

 _Takashi Matsuyama/Ed Blaylock as Jose Porla_  
 _Hiroki Gotō/Dave Cain as Boze_  
 _Kyoko Namekawa/Kia Fulton as Sue_  
 _Hiroki Tōchi/Rick Keeling as Panther Lily_  
 _Yoshimitsu Shimoyama/Austin Tindle as Alzack Connell_  
 _Satomi Arai/Angela Chase as Bisca Connell_  
 _Kōki Uchiyama/Micah Solusod as Midnight (Macbeth)_  
 _Fuyuka Ōura/Lindsay Seidel as Angel (Sorano Aguria)_  
 _Junji Majima/Jeff Plunk as Racer (Sawyer)_  
 _Kazuya Ichijō/Chris Cason as Hoteye (Richard Buchanan)_  
 _Kazuya Ichijō/Chris Cason as Wally Buchanan_  
 _Fuyuka Ōura/Mallorie Rodak as Yukino Aguria_  
 _Saori Hayami/Jenny Ledel Kagura Mikazuchi_  
 _and Masafumi Kimura/Steve Powell as Yajima (Opening Song)_

 **Ending Song  
** **The Adventure  
** Sung by Angels and Airwaves

 _I wanna have the same last dream again  
The one where I wake up and I'm alive  
Just as the four walls close me within  
My eyes are open up with pure sunlight_

 _I'm the first to know my dearest friends  
Even if your hope has burned with time  
Anything that's dead shall be regrown  
And your vicious pain, your warning sign  
You will be fine_

 _Hey oh, here I am  
And here we go life's waiting to begin_

 _Any type of love it will be shown  
Like every single tree reach for the sky  
If you're gonna fall I'll let you know  
That I will pick you up like you for I_

 _I felt this thing I can't replace  
When everyone was working for this goal  
Where all the children left without a trace  
Only to come back as pure as gold  
To recite this all_

 _Hey oh, here I am  
And here we go life's waiting to begin tonight_

 _Hey oh, here I am  
And here we go life's waiting to begin tonight_

 _Hey oh, here I am  
And here we go life's waiting to begin_

 _I cannot live I can't breathe  
Unless you do this with me  
I cannot live I can't breathe  
Unless you do this with me_

 _I cannot live I can't breathe  
Unless you do this with me  
I cannot live I can't breathe  
Unless you do this with me_

 _I cannot live I can't breathe  
Unless you do this with me  
I cannot live I can't breathe  
Unless you do this with me_

 _Hey oh, here I am  
(Do this with me)  
Here we go life's waiting to begin  
(Do this with me)  
Hey oh, here I am  
(Do this with me)  
Here we go life's waiting to begin  
Life's waiting to begin_

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _And thus concludes the sequel to the first of Fairy Tail's Disney Parody Series, Romeoladdin: The Return of Brain! I would like to give a shoutout to all my friends who inspired me to write this successful sequel. P.S., for those who loved this story, I recommend reading the prequel, Romeoladdin._

 _Please leave any review, and any request for my next addition to Fairy Tail's Disney Parodies. Feel free to share any ideas where I can mix other Disney movies with Fairy Tail characters. The Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Tangled, anything, make your pick!_

 _This is TheSavageMan100, signing out. Until then, see you later!_


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